A Des Moines man died in a house fire early this morning. A spokesperson for the Des Moines fire department says city street cleaners noticed smoke coming from the house just after two A.M. and called firefighters. Firefighters entered the house where they found smoke and flames in the basement and on the main floor. In searching the home they found the victim, 40-year-old Joel Lambert, behind a closed bathroom door. Lambert, who was alone in the house, was pronounced dead at the scene. The spokesperson says the cause of the fire hasn’t been determined, but it does appear to have started in the basement — and does not appear suspicious. The report also says there was one smoke detector in the home, but it did not have a battery.
