DELRAY BEACH, Fla. — Officials are investigating a body found in a storage closet at a shopping plaza in Delray Beach after a Friday morning fire.
Police and fire rescue crews were dispatched Friday morning to 1005 South Congress Ave. in the Sherwood Park Plaza.
The fire took place at the Service Plus Income Tax building at about 6 a.m.
Police said when fire crews arrived, smoke was spotted coming from the building.
When crews put out the fire, they discovered a body inside the storage closet.
WPTV reporter Joel Lopez spoke to people who said that the fire occurred in the same place where a homeless man often slept.
While police have not confirmed the victim's identity, Lopez talked with multiple people at the scene who fear that the victim may have been trying to stay out of the cold.
Regular visitors to the shopping center along with people who work in the area told WPTV that the victim is a father and husband who had come to the U.S. from Honduras.
"HE FELT VERY LONELY HERE"
WPTV was told that he was a friend to everyone and would work small jobs at the plaza.
"He was a fun guy, very respectful. He would never ask you for money," Claudia Galvan, who knew the fire victim, said. "If you gave it to him, (he would say), 'thank you.' If not he would never ask you for anything."
"Sadly he felt very lonely here, abandoned. He said he didn't have his family," Mario Garcia said. "I feel bad for his family because they're so far away."
Michael, a barber in the plaza, said he took the man in for Christmas and New Year's.
"We had a little language barrier, but you still understand emotions and feelings," Michael said. "He was a good man. Rest in peace."
This still is an open investigation and authorities have not confirmed what started the fire.
