Nov. 22--A fire Thursday in a Glenwood home began when the resident of the home stoked a fireplace for heat and the blaze spread, fire officials said Friday.
The fire on the 200 block of Rainbow Drive in the South Suburb claimed the life of Wilhelmina Tomek, 81, according to the Cook County medical examiner's office.
An autopsy conducted Friday determined that Tomek died of carbon monoxide toxicity and inhalation of smoke and soot caused by the fire. A secondary cause of death was hypertensive and arteriosclerosis cardiovascular disease, according to the office. Her death was ruled an accident.
Firefighters were called to the woman's single-family split-level brick home at 9:11 a.m. Thursday, said Glenwood Fire Chief Kevin Welsh. When fire crews arrived they found the home engulfed in heavy black smoke, said Welsh.
Firefighters found Tomek collapsed on the floor at the rear of the home in the kitchen, near a rear door leading outside, Welsh said.
The woman was taken outside of the home where paramedics performed advanced life saving procedures. She was taken to an area hospital where she was pronounced dead at 9:50 a.m. Thursday.
Investigators determined that the fire was caused when the woman attempted to stoke the fireplace at the home, causing the fire from the fireplace to spread. The woman was using the fireplace to heat the home even though the home had a working furnace, officials said.
The home had working smoke detectors that were sounding when fire fighters arrived, Welsh said. The woman's dog was with neighbors.
It took about 18 firefighters from Glenwood, East Hazel Crest and other municipalities about 45 minutes to put out the fire which destroyed the interior of the home.
