ALBEMARLE, N.C. -- One person was killed in an early morning house fire in Albemarle.

Police said the blaze began just after midnight Thursday at an illegal boarding house on West Main Street. Investigators said five people lived there, and the four survivors could face civil or criminal charges.

The man killed was identified as Jerry Huneycutt.

One of his roommates, Glenn Carroll, said, “They said he tried to get up and get out, but he couldn’t get his door open. He had it locked.”

The fire marshal said it appears the fire was an accident caused by a cigarette that was not properly disposed of.

Investigators said the home was an illegal boarding house because it broke zoning rules and may not have been safe.

But Stanly County doesn’t have a homeless shelter for men, and many, like the ones who lived there, said they don’t have many other options.

The owner of the house could also be charged or fined if the house is in fact found to be illegal.