UPDATE: Victim Identified in Fatal Wayland Fire

UPDATE: Wayland Fire officials have identified the vicitim of Friday morning's fire as 85-year-old Joseph H. Kozlowski.

Chief Vincent Smth said Kozlowski is both the owner and resident of the 2 Gage Road home in Wayland.

Terry Kane, a neighbor, said Kozlowski generally kept to himself in the tan Cape Cod-style home on the corner of Grace and Gage roads.

Another neighbor, who asked to remain anonymous, said Kozlowski had lived in the home for at least 34 years, which was when the neighbor moved in.

Original story:

A fire that tore through the basement of the home at 2 Gage Road in Wayland's Cochituate area claimed the life of a man firefighters believe was in his mid-80s.

Wayland Fire Chief Vincent Smith said a neighbor reported the fire at 12:08 a.m. Friday when that neighbor spotted smoke coming from the house.

Fire crews arrived within four minutes, and Smith said that the wintry conditions did not play a significant factor in the response.

Firefighters did encounter difficulty accessing the home due to large amounts of storage and clutter throughout the house, Smith said. Crews were able to locate the victim on the first floor of the home, but once outside, paramedics and emergency medical technicians "determined that resuscitation efforts were not indicated."

While the investigation into the fire's cause is ongoing, "It appears to be completely accidental," Smith said.

Smith said the fire was contained to the basement, but fire crews vented the home to prevent the fire from spreading. The basement sustained fire and water damage and the entire home sustained smoke damage. A damage estimate is not available at this time, but Smith called it "significant."

Natick and Weston fire crews assisted at the scene, while Sudbury, Framingham and Lincoln departments covered Wayland's two fire stations.