The fire burned so hot, so fast that the 11-year-old boy stood no chance of surviving.

Firefighters battle the blaze early Friday morning (Glenn Hartong photos) | ZOOM |

        Firefighters got to the house on Curazon Drive in Hartwell within minutes of the call, just before midnight Wednesday. The big Victorian was engulfed in flames. They found the boy's grandfather outside, burned severely.

        They couldn't get inside to look for Matthew Timothy Rodgers.

        The house collapsed within five minutes, further trapping the popular sixth-grader inside. Firefighters could do nothing but pick through the rubble later to find his body.

        Dozens of the boy's family members and neighbors stood outside, watching.

Firefighters search the ruins for the body of Matthew Timothy Rodgers | ZOOM |

        Nine hours after the fire started, investigators found Matthew under charred pieces of a bed. He is the fifth person to die in a Cincinnati fire this year.

        “We did everything we could do,” said Assistant Fire Chief Mose Demasi, shaking his head.

        Investigators spent Thursday sorting through the house, now a pile of bricks and wood. They released no cause but said the fact that the house was being remodeled and was missing a lot of interior drywall could have contributed to the fire's quick spread.

        “We had a total structural failure,” District Chief Jay Boeing said.

Relatives and neighbors share their grief Thursday outside the house. | ZOOM |

        The boy's grandfather and legal guardian, Rick Caudill, 47, remained in serious condition Thursday at University Hospital. An engineer for GE Aircraft Engines, he made it out of the house and was searching frantically for Matthew — despite severe burns over half of his body.

        “He thought the world of that kid,” said Wallace Keller, Mr. Caudill's uncle, describing the victims' close relationship. “He worshipped that kid.”

        Neighbors stood outside for hours, hugging each other and comforting family members. Relatives of the two victims lived in houses on either side of the burned home.

        Matt had lived with his grandfather since he was very young, neighbors said. The two were avid boaters.

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