Last modified: Sunday, June 3, 2007 11:37 PM EDT Seekonk man dies in fire BY REBECCA KEISTER SUN CHRONICLE STAFF SEEKONK - Neighbors last saw Lou Botseas, who lived by himself on their quiet street, some time late last week. On Sunday evening, they stood across from his house, shaking their heads - and shedding some tears - after Botseas, who was in his late 80s, was found dead in his favorite armchair after a fire erupted inside the home. "It will be strange not seeing him anymore. He was my friend," said John Lopes, who has lived across from Botseas on South Wheaton Avenue for nearly 20 years. "It's a shame. The man upstairs works in mysterious ways." Officials are still investigating what caused the fire, which was reported just before 6 p.m. Fire Chief Alan R. Jack said that when firefighters arrived on the scene, they found the second-floor living room of the raised-ranch house on fire, and found Botseas in that room. But, Jack said, it has not been determined where the fire started. "There was severe fire damage in there. It was very hot and very smoky," he said. Fire officials did not release the name of the victim, pending positive identification, but several neighbors said it was Botseas. It was Lopes who first noticed the fire. He and his wife were setting out to do errands when he looked across at the street and saw yellow smoke coming from the house. Lopes said he immediately ran to Botseas' house and entered, going up three stairs before he was overcome by smoke and smell, and had to turn around. He was able to rescue Botseas' beloved dog, Whitey. "I went up three steps and felt the heat, and I couldn't go up because it was too much," Lopes said. "I wish I could have." By that time a police officer arrived and together he and Lopes pushed ladders up against the house to call to Botseas, but the man did not answer them. Fire officials cannot say for certain it was the fire that killed Botseas. Though his body was "obviously" damaged from the fire, Jack said, an official cause of death has not been determined. Jack said the department is hoping the state will allow the medical examiner's office to take the case. Neighbors expressed some concern that Botseas may have not been outside in a few days. "We have heard that, but we've also been told that's not that unusual," Jack said. Though quite elderly, neighbors said Botseas still took daily drives and could be seen in his yard quite often. He had, neighbors said, lived in the house alone since his wife passed away some 10 years ago. His only known surviving relative, a nephew who lives in New York, was his only family visitor. "So, he'd come over and ask me to do something for him," Lopes said. "He had his own ways. He kept to himself, mostly." Jack said an "out-of-state" relative had been notified and was expected to be in town today. Three years ago, Botseas was the victim of a home invasion, when a Newport, R.I. man who talked his way into the home by asking to use the phone, but then threatened the then 83-year-old man with a knife, bound and gagged him, then robbed him. Botseas freed himself, then called 911 and aided in the eventual arrest of the suspect. Seekonk's last fatal fire was in October 2004, when an elderly woman and her two daughters perished from smoke inhalation during a fire caused by an electrical heater inside their Taunton Avenue home. REBECCA KEISTER can be reached at 508-236-0336 or at rkeister@thesunchronicle.com.