Fire officials recovered a body after three buildings went up in flames in Niagara Falls early Tuesday morning.

The family of 52-year-old Ward Schaal says Niagara Falls firefighters found his body in the wreckage.

The fire broke out just before midnight on Niagara Street and took firefighters several hours to completely knock it down.

When crews arrived at the scene, the middle of three buildings was engulfed in flames. The fire quickly spread to the neighboring buildings.

The family living in the brick building spoke with Spectrum News at the scene. All of them were able to escape, including three children.

The mother, Virginia Fuller, says her children had been sleeping in the area of the home where the roof collapsed. Fuller says the family dog, GiGi, was missing after the fire but she was found in the rubble behind the home and has been safely reunited with her owners.

Due to the flames, firefighters could not get into the building to do a search.

At around 3:00 a.m. officials say the roof collapsed on one of the buildings. Crews had to wait until a demolition company was able to excavate the rubble.