KANSAS CITY, Mo. (KCTV) – A home near Main and Cookingham was reported on fire hours after a standoff was sparked in the area.

Shortly before 10:00 p.m. Thursday night, authorities found a man dead in a home that caught fire after an hours-long standoff.

According to the Kansas City Fire Department, a hostile person was still inside the home and defensive operations had to take place away from the residence.

“We know what’s in that residence. We don’t know what precautions a person would have taken and could take to create a diversion situation with a fire or something like that,” Kansas City Missouri Police Department Captain Jake Becchina said. “So they will take every precaution. De-escalation efforts will continue.”

KCFD confirmed the severity of the house fire, saying the house sustained significant damage. The fire is still smoldering and police said they have deployed drones to try to get a visual image and have robots search for possible hideouts.

Once authorities feel confident it has become a “recovery effort,” firefighters will move in to do a more thorough job of extinguishing the fire.

At 8:45 p.m., officers used robotic video and drones to check the back area of ​​the home and did not locate the man in that area. KCFD is moving closer to the home to more aggressively distribute water to fight the fire.

No information has yet been provided on how the fire started.

A nearby North KC Elementary School was placed on lockdown Thursday afternoon as a result of the standoff.

The North KC School District said Nashua Elementary School was placed under a “close and surrender” lockdown and the dismissal was modified due to the nearby police response.

A spokesman for the Kansas City Missouri Police Department said officers responded to a home “nearby” with a gunman inside. KCPD said they were called to a home in the 11500 block of N. Cherry on reports of a suicidal person.

The confrontation is unrelated to the school, KCPD confirmed.

KCPD said responding officers made verbal contact with a male inside the home from a distance. After trying to get him to come outside to check on his welfare, officers heard the sound of multiple gunshots coming from inside the home.

As a result, additional resources and trained negotiators were brought to the scene. Police said they believe the man was home alone and said tactical officers and emergency vehicles helped evacuate surrounding residents and the nearby school, which was locked down and taught.

Nashua Elementary School was eventually dismissed with the help of the Clay County Sheriff’s Office.

Negotiators remain at the home and KCPD said officers continue to hear the sound of gunshots coming from inside the home. Starting at 6 p.m., the law enforcement officers stated that a fire broke out inside the house.

This is a developing story. KCTV will update it as more information becomes available.

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