DETROIT -- Authorities said illegal electricity was being supplied to a small hotel on Detroit's east side where a fire claimed the life of one man and injured two other people.

The Detroit Fire Department was called to the historic 14-room Paris Hotel just before 5 a.m. Thursday.

Fire officials said that space heaters also were being used to keep occupants warm and the cause was under investigation.

Images:Man Dies In Hotel Fire
Watch: Authorities: Hotel Had Illegal Hookup Before Fire

Anthony Hightower, who lives down the street from the hotel, said it had recently fallen on hard times and became a boarding home for many homeless people.

"A lot of people that were homeless came there to reside. Now they have to turn them out on to the streets and it's a shame that has to happen," said Hightower.

DTE Energy Co. spokesman Len Singer said the utility hadn't provided electrical service to the location since September 2009.

A message seeking comment was left Thursday afternoon for owner Manuel Casey, who said earlier that he wasn't aware of any illegal electrical hookup at the hotel.

Comcast officials said the fire knocked out one of the main cable connectors in the area, and that nearly 6,000 residents were without cable for several hours.

Casey said six people were staying on the second floor of the two-story building.

"The building wasn't in the best condition. It needed repairs," said Hightower.

Another neighbor, Sankofa Afi-Tapfuma, said back in the day, the Paris Hotel was a glamorous place to stay.

"Some of your most prominent people like Billy Holiday, Malcolm, Martin, they couldn't stay in other places in the 50s," he said.

"I am sad to see it go even though there was probably a lot of drug activity going on in there. I would have loved for this to be salvaged," he added.