One man is dead and a woman was injured in an early morning fire May 9 in a strip center in the 9800 block of Michigan Rd. in Carmel.

Carmel police were called to the scene before 3:20 a.m. for a welfare check after a woman was spotted outside the building wrapped in a blanket, according to Carmel Fire Department spokesman Tim Griffin. First responders discovered she was “extremely burned,” Griffin said, and transported her to a nearby hospital.

Police immediately called CFD when they determined the fire was ongoing. The building houses a restaurant, massage parlor, sportswear shop and automotive group.

Firefighters entered quickly upon learning a man was likely inside the building, but their efforts were slowed by deteriorating conditions.

“They were forced out by some structural collapse that was happening in the front of the building,” Griffin said. “It forced the crews initially out. Crews were able to find other ways into the building to initiate searches, ventilation and fire suppression operations.”

Once inside, firefighters discovered the body of a deceased male inside the massage parlor, Griffin said.

The fire was extinguished by 4 a.m., Griffin said.

CFD and the Carmel Police Department are investigating the incident and do not yet know where or how the fire started. Griffin could not immediately confirm why the man and woman were at the building or their relationship to each other.