ST. MARY’S COUNTY, Md. (DC News Now) — A Navy firefighter who was trapped under debris at the scene of a house fire in Leonardtown, Md. Tuesday morning died from his injuries.

Officials said the firefighter fell through the first floor of the home on Deer Wood Park Drive.

“The firefighter sadly died in the line of duty. It is a tragedy on not only the part of Pax River’s community but the southern Maryland community as a whole,” said Patrick Gordon, a spokesman for the Naval Air Station Patuxent River.

Authorities said that the fire took 75 firefighters from the volunteers in Leonardtown to other departments to battle it. The firefighter that lost his life was with the Naval District Washington Fire Department, which often helps southern Maryland towns, officials said.

“When we lose one of our own, it is deeply felt because these are firefighters that not only respond on the Navy base but also in the community as well,” Gordon said. “And it just speaks volumes to the bravery that our firefighters face every day running towards danger to help when help is needed.”

Fire officials said they expect to release the firefighter’s name Wednesday morning. Federal rules state that the name must be released 24 hours after an incident involving death and notification of next of kin.

Naval Air Station Patuxent River tweeted at 10:25 a.m. that it was one of its firefighters who died in the line of duty while responding to a mutual aid call in Leonardtown. A follow up-tweet said: “Our thoughts and deepest condolences go out to his family, friends, and loved ones during this incredibly difficult time.”

Investigators said at a news conference Tuesday afternoon that they were looking at the possibility that a lightning strike started the fire. There were strong storms in the area at the time it began, and the people who were inside the home said they heard a boom before the fire started.

The fire completely leveled what Richard and Grace McNeil called their dream home. The couple had built their house in 1976.

“We were lucky to get out. I mean, wallet, everything. Our iPads. Everything’s gone,” Richard McNeil said. “And my daughter came in and she woke us up and said, the house is burning.”

Richard McNeil said watching his beloved two-story home disappear in front of his eyes to heaps of smoldering rubble was a harrowing experience. All he, his wife and his daughter had left were the clothes on their backs.

“It just tears you up,” he said. “You know, you try to keep a positive attitude and… it takes a lot of gall, I guess, to get to keep going because everything’s been taken from me.”

He said the firefighter dying to try and save their home really hit the family hard.

“It’s a shame. I mean, he’s just doing his job,” Richard McNeil said.

Oliver Alkire, a spokesman for the Maryland State Fire Marshal, said the fire community is hurting after the death of one of their fellow firefighters.

“These firefighters are extremely brave, and today we have tragically lost one of our own,” Alkire said.

Alkire said that the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms will investigate the fire, which is standard procedure.