A Pakistani American man has been found dead inside an apartment in Washington, D.C. after firefighters responded to reports of smoke in a residential building earlier this week, according to local authorities.

The incident was reported at around 3:33am on Wednesday, when Washington Fire and Emergency Medical Services responded to a call about smoke in the hallway of a building located in the 1400 block of Rhode Island Avenue NW. Firefighters entered one of the apartments, extinguished a small fire and found an adult male who was unconscious and not breathing.

The Metropolitan Police Department later identified the deceased as 40-year-old Syed Hammad Hussain. Police said the man showed signs of blunt-force trauma along with thermal injuries and was declared dead at the scene after emergency responders found “no signs consistent with life”.

Hussain’s family is originally from Lahore and is settled in Washington DC.  His funeral prayer service is scheduled to take place at 12:30pm on Saturday at the Dar Al-Hijrah Islamic Center.

The apartment building is located near Logan Circle, approximately 1.1 miles northwest of the White House.

In a statement issued on Friday, police said that after an initial assessment by fire officials, the case was referred to law enforcement and taken over by homicide detectives. Authorities said no suspects had been identified as of Friday.

Investigators are reviewing security camera footage obtained from a neighbouring building as part of the inquiry. 

Sources familiar with the investigation told local media that the footage shows Hussain entering the building with three other individuals, including a woman, shortly before the fire broke out. The same individuals were later seen running from the building, according to those sources.

Police have asked members of the public to come forward with any information related to the incident. The Metropolitan Police Department said it is offering a reward of up to $25,000 for information leading to the arrest and conviction of those responsible.