Smoking May Be to Blame in South Elgin Fire Death

South Elgin police were able to rescue an elderly woman, but firefighters were turned back by heat and a “wall of flames” when the returned to try to rescue a 72-year-old man who died, the Chicago Tribune reports.

Kane Coroner Rob Russell identified the victim as Thomas Hasier, who was pronounced dead at the scene of the fire at 117 Beck St. Russell said in a release on Tuesday that an autopsy was performed but the cause of death is pending results of the full death investigation.

The Tribune said police officers arrived at the fire at 9 a.m. assisted an elderly woman in a wheelchair out of the home. But firefighters who went in to rescue Hasier were blocked by “a wall of flame and intense heat.”

The fire may have been caused by careless smoking, the Tribune said.

• Read more details in the Tribune story.