GOULDSBORO – A 54-year-old local man was found dead inside his burning car Sunday morning in an apparent suicide.

Steven Wilbur’s body was in the driver’s seat of a tan, late-model Ford, which was engulfed in flames when firefighters arrived at the man’s home on U.S. Route 1.

Sgt. Timothy York of the State Fire Marshal’s Office said Tuesday that the blaze was “a result of an intentional act” but was still under investigation.

“We are still doing some lab analysis from items that were collected from the vehicle,” he said.

A volunteer fireman drove past Wilbur’s rented apartment at about 10:30 a.m., saw the car burning in the driveway and used his cell phone to call for help.

Assistant Fire Chief James Souders, who was among the first to respond to the call, said crews knew right away someone was inside the vehicle because they could see the man’s arm sticking out of the window.

Crews worked quickly to extinguish the flames but also were careful to preserve any evidence that might be helpful to investigators, he said.

Wilbur lived alone and worked at the Stinson’s Seafood sardine cannery in Prospect Harbor. Neighbors said he kept to himself.

“As far as they knew, he was a nice guy, a decent guy, but quiet,” Souders said.

York said the fire started inside the passenger compartment of the car but he was unable to say whether any accelerants were used. On Tuesday, investigators were waiting for results of tests being conducted at the crime lab in Augusta on materials taken from the back seat of vehicle, he said.

A local physician performed a partial autopsy, but the official cause of Wilbur’s death has not yet been released by the state medical examiner’s office.

Wilbur’s body was released to his relatives, who live in southern Maine, York said.