Erie firefighters used chainsaws Saturday to cut a hole in the back of an east Erie house so they could remove a body found inside the trash-filled residence.
Emergency crews were called around 12:30 p.m. to 409 East 22nd St. A friend of the man living there had found him unresponsive Saturday morning and called 911, Erie Deputy Fire Chief John Herrmann said.
"The house has rubbish piled up throughout the place, so we couldn't get him out through the front or back doors," Herrmann said. "So we cut a hole next to a window in the back."
Erie County Chief Deputy Coroner Nick Rekitt identified the man as Michael A. Fetzner, 58, who lived at the residence. Rekitt said Fetzner appears to have died from natural causes.
"It was a hoarding situation," Rekitt said. "There was literally stuff stacked to the ceiling with paths leading throughout the house. There is no foul play and nothing suspicious. There is no indication of anything other than medical issues as the cause of death. It looks like he died of natural causes."
Fetzner was found in a bedroom, Rekitt said.
The Erie County Coroner's office is trying to locate relatives of Fetzner. Anyone with information is asked to contact the Coroner's Office at 452-2911.
Authorities said it appeared Fetzner had been dead at least several days.
Crews shut off electrical, natural gas and water service to the house before Fetzner's body was removed. A team of firefighters and members of the Erie County Coroner's Office transported the body from the house to a coroner's vehicle.
"He'd pay me to take him places," said Dave Frye, a friend of Fetzner. "But I never went inside the house. No way."
Erie's code enforcement office had been dealing with the property and its owner for a while, said Andy Zimmerman, the city's code enforcement manager who was at the house Saturday.
"We've been in court about the property," Zimmerman said.
After the body was removed, the house's doors were secured and a board was placed over the hole in the back.
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