A multiagency investigation is underway after a person died in a fire at a homeless encampment in Milford, according to police. It happened in the woods behind the Lowe’s on Old Gate Lane.

Employees Anthony Small and William Batts were working in the garden center outside when the fire broke out, just after noon.

“Then like we smelled like a little bit of smoke, and we thought it was just normal, like somebody cooking or whatever. And then that's when you heard our alarm go off because our alarms pick up any type of smoke,” said Small who initially thought it was a false alarm, until his manager said everyone needed to evacuate.

“Our first priority as workers here was we just wanted to make sure everybody was safe,” Batts added.

Once customers were outside, Small said employees joined them.

“We look up, and all we see is black smoke all the way up, just shooting up in the air,” Small recalled.

Video shows the towering plume from the tree line, where News 12 is told there’s a homeless encampment near the railroad tracks. Employees said they’ve heard about it but never seen it first-hand.

Fire crews arrived and put out the flames, but one person died, according to Milford Fire Capt. Brandon Edo.

Edo said another person suffered burns, while a firefighter also went to the hospital as a precaution for minor injuries but was released.

“What we experienced today is a tragedy. I mean, just like any one of us were to experience a neighbor’s fire in our community,” said Jennifer Paradis, executive director of the Beth-El Center in Milford, which strives to help the unhoused population. “Our team works very closely with this encampment and folks who are unhoused in Milford. There seems to be a core group of folks, five or six, that call this place home.”

Paradis said her team is working to support anyone affected. It's unclear how many people were there when the fire broke out. Lowe's workers recalled seeing two people run from the woods.

“We lost one of our people here today, so it's very sad, tragic day for Milford,” said Mayor Tony Giannattasio. “We're just sending out our prayers to the families."

Questions of how and why the deadly fire began are now at the heart of a probe involving local fire and police and their counterparts at the state level. The Milford State’s Attorney’s Office was also on scene Friday. News 12 is told investigators applied for search warrants and are expected to be processing the scene through the night.