One person died and several businesses and residences were destroyed when fire raced through a block of buildings on Irvington Road in Kilmarnock in the early morning hours Tuesday, April 19.

According to Kilmarnock Volunteer Fire Department Chief Roy Hall, the body of the victim was found in one of the apartments and has been sent to the state medical examiner’s office for identification. The name of the deceased wasn’t released by the press deadline Wednesday morning.

Two of the seven apartments in the block of buildings were fully engulfed when responders arrived on scene around 3:44 a.m., said Hall. The 911 call came into the Lancaster County Sheriff’s Office at 3:41 a.m. and the first unit arrived three minutes later, he said.

“By that time, the two apartments were fully engulfed and it had spread to the other five apartments and five businesses,” said Hall.

Four volunteer fire departments responded including Kilmarnock, Upper Lancaster, White Stone and Fairfields. La...