Firefighters from Burnsville and Selma made a gruesome discovery when they found the body of an unidentified male in a burning car Tuesday morning.

The body, found in Burnsville, was too badly burned to make a positive identification when it was found.

The body was sent to the Alabama Department of Forensic Sciences for investigation. Dallas County Coroner Alan Dailey said the body has been tentatively identified by investigators, but declined to comment until verification.

“They were trying to get medical records and dental records to positively identify it,” Dailey said.

The body was found after a Burnsville resident called in a residential fire to the Selma Dispatch Office. The Selma Fire Department dispatched Burnsville Volunteer firefighters to the scene.

“It actually turned out to be a car fire,” Dailey said.

The car was parked in front of a residence in Burnsville. Because a death investigation is underway, Dailey declined to give the address.

The Burnsville Volunteer Fire Department and the Selma Fire Department answered the call.

When the fire was extinguished, the body was discovered.

Two state fire marshals were called to the scene to investigate.

“That’s routine with any fire death in the state of Alabama,” Dailey said. “They came to the scene and they were taking samples along with investigators from the Dallas County Sheriff’s Department.”

Attempts to contact Dallas County Harris Huffman or the Burnsville Volunteer Fire Department were unsuccessful.

While the body was too badly burned to identify, Dailey said it appeared to be a male.

The cause of death is unknown. Dailey said the death could be accidental or a homicide.

“Who knows right now?” he said.

Dallas County Sheriff’s Department investigators are treating the incident as a death investigation, according to Dailey.