Jan. 07--A man in his 60s was found dead after a house fire in the Calumet Heights neighborhood Wednesday afternoon, officials said.
The man was found dead in a home in the 9100 block of South Crandon Avenue after emergency crews were called to the scene about 1:30 p.m., Chicago police spokeswoman Officer Bari Lemmon and Chicago Fire Department spokesman Larry Langford said. Authorities had varying ages for the man, but he was believed to be in his 60s, Langford said.
The original call indicated a person with an infirmity might be trapped in the fire, which compelled responders to bring additional equipment to the scene. Only one fire hose was needed to extinguish the blaze, which caused significant damage to the interior of the trilevel home, Langford said.
The front of the house sustained the heaviest damage, though the man was found dead near a side entrance to the home, near the kitchen, Langford said. The fire blew out the front of the home but did not damage the main part of the brick building, he said.
There were no indications the fire was suspicious, Langford said. Although fire officials will wait for an autopsy to determine the man's cause of death, initial indications were that he died from fire-related causes, he said.
Despite the cold, firefighters did not encounter water supply problems while fighting the fire, Langford said.
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