A man has been arrested in connection with a fatal house fire in northwestern New Brunswick.

The Peel, N.B. home was fully engulfed in flames when emergency crews arrived at Harmon Lane before 5 a.m. Monday.

Fire crews found human remains inside the home after the Hartland Volunteer Fire Department brought the blaze under control.

Rob Gibson awoke early Monday to the sounds of fire trucks driving by their home, and saw an orange glow in the sky.

“When we found out last night that they'd found remains in the house, I just felt sick to my stomach,” Gibson said.

Though he and his wife live more than 500 metres from the home that burned, Gibson said the heat from the fire was intense.

“I was down at the intersection of the 105 here and I could feel the heat from the house as I was talking to 9-1-1,” he said.

People in Peel are shocked by the incident, Gibson said.

Police say a man was arrested in connection with the fire Monday evening. He remains in custody and charges are pending.

“The investigators will take as much time as they need to conduct a proper and thorough investigation,” said RCMP spokesman Cst. Derek Black.

Trained fire investigators have been at the scene since early Monday morning.

Investigators are still working to identify the victim. They have not released a cause of a death, or cause of the fire, but they do say it is considered suspicious.

Mike Walton, chief of the Hartland Volunteer Fire Department, said his crews — the first responders on the scene — were immediately suspicious.

“When we arrived on scene, we knew that there was something that wasn't quite right,” Walton said.

Their suspicions were raised by the possible discovery of “different types of accelerants” in the area, he said.

Now the area surrounding the burned two-storey home remains protected, with RCMP officers guarding access to much of the rural community.

Harmon Lane remains blocked to traffic as police remain on scene. Officers are also going door-to-door as they investigate.

With files from CTV Atlantic’s Andy Campbell