Deadly Walhalla Fire under investigation

A deadly Walhalla house fire is under investigation. Around 9:30pm Tuesday night, the Oconee County 911 communications center received a report of a house fire at 829 North Andover Drive in Walhalla. Multiple fire agencies responded to the Mountain View subdivision home. Upon arrival and entry into the home, firefighters discovered an unresponsive male lying on a bedroom floor of the home. Walhalla firefighters immediately extricated him from the home, but EMS found no signs of life. Oconee County Coroner Karl Addis pronounced 49-year-old Michael Joseph Marcello dead at the scene around 10:12pm. No one else was at home when the fire was reported. Addis says an autopsy has been ordered to assist with the death investigation. The Walhalla Fire Department, Walhalla Police Department and SLED continue to investigate the cause and origin of the fire.