SALISBURY — A fire later Monday night in a bus that was being used as a residence claimed the life of 48-year-old Michael Joseph Osterhus.

According to fire and police reports, at about 9:15 p.m. Dec. 2, both departments responded to a reported bus fire at 735 Klumac Road. The 911 caller informed the dispatcher that someone lived in the bus as well.

Firefighters arrived to find a bus engulfed in flames. Crews quickly extinguished the fire and a rescue firefighter searched the vehicle. Tragically, Osterhus was discovered inside the bus. In trying to get the victim out, that firefighter suffered minor burns to his face but was not transported to hospital by ambulance, according to Fire Chief Bob Parnell.

“He was doing his job,” said Parnell, who said everyone had hoped for a different outcome.

The Salisbury Police Department and Fire Marshal’s Office investigated the fire as a team and have determined the cause was accidental and electrical in nature.

Friends have said Osterhus had lived in the bus for at least two years, and many described him as “a very kind man.”

“He was a co-worker and a friend,” said Marie Baker, who worked with Osterhus at the Dollar Tree on Klumac Road. “He started as a customer, he used to come through my line, and then one day our manager offered him a job.” He used to ride his bike to work, she said, and she described him as “very nice and very creative. He was a writer, was writing a book, and was developing an app that he hoped to sell to Google.”

Baker said she and her co-workers are still struggling to accept that he is gone.

“I’m struggling to accept that he’s gone.” she said.

Anyone with information about the incident is urged to contact the Salisbury Police Department at 704-638-5333 or  Salisbury-Rowan Crime Stoppers at 1-866-639-5245.