Investigators plan to bring in Allegheny County's arson dog to aid them in their probe of a fatal house fire yesterday in Ross.

The victim was identified by the county medical examiner's office as Patrick Egan-Wyer, 75. He was the owner of the ruined home at 132 Fourth Ave. in the township's Laurel Gardens neighborhood.

Firefighters found his body in the basement while they were fighting the blaze, Ross fire marshal John Reubi said. No cause of death has been announced.

The house, a one-story bungalow, was gutted by the early morning blaze. Its windows were broken, the interior walls were blackened and flames burned through the roof.

Mr. Reubi said it appeared that the fire began in the basement. He said it was too early to speculate on a cause.

Firefighters from nearby Laurel Gardens Volunteer Fire Co. were dispatched at 4:21 a.m. yesterday, Chief Ray Hillenbrand said. They were eventually joined by volunteers from four other companies in battling the two-alarm blaze, Chief Hillenbrand said. He estimated that about 30 firefighters were at the scene.

When firefighters arrived they found heavy smoke had blackened the home's windows and saw more smoke coming out under the eaves of the bungalow's roof.

Because Mr. Egan-Wyer's van was parked outside, rescue workers assumed he was in the home and tried to enter, Chief Hillenbrand said. They were driven back by smoke, flames and a burned-out floor, he said.

They found Mr. Egan-Wyer's body in the basement while they were fighting the blaze. He estimated it took between an hour and 90 minutes to get the fire under control.

Mr. Egan-Wyer was a new resident in the neighborhood, arriving in August.

Neighbors on Fourth Avenue described him as quiet.

"He kept to himself," Denise Edmondston said.

"He was a nice neighbor," Olga Jahn said. "He certainly caused no problems."

When she told Mr. Egan-Wyer she was having trouble remembering his last name, he wrote it out for her, Mrs. Jahn said.

Mrs. Edmondston said she was awakened by commotion across the street from her house around 5 a.m. yesterday. When she looked out, she saw flames shooting out from the windows of Mr. Egan-Wyer's home.

Mrs. Jahn was fearful that she and her husband, George, might have to leave their house, but firefighters kept the flames from spreading next door, she said.

The county's arson dog, Coal, will aid in the investigation. A 6-year-old black English Labrador, he is one of only 61 canines across the country trained in accelerant detection by the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, according to the county fire marshal's Web site.

Coal and his human partner were in West Virginia yesterday, investigating a suspicious fire there, Mr. Reubi said.

Township firefighters and fire police remained on the scene for hours after the blaze was put out, securing the gutted building for the ongoing investigation.