An elderly man was found dead this morning after a fire broke out in a home on the South Side.
Robert Young, described as being in his 60s, was pronounced dead at the scene, according to a spokesman for the Cook County medical examiner’s office.
The examiner’s office said Young lived in the 8000 block of South Wood Street. But the fire took place in the 8000 block of South Stewart Avenue, in a one-story, ranch-style bungalow.
About 3:18 a.m., fire officials responded to a call of a fire at the building in the 8000 block of South Stewart Avenue, said Chicago Fire Department spokesman Larry Langford.
When firefighters arrived, heavy fire was blowing out of the windows in the back of the building, Langford said.
After the fire was extinguished, firefighters searched the building and discovered an elderly man in a bedroom in the back of the building, Langford said. “He was already dead when we found him,” Langford said.
Langford also said no working smoke alarms were found in the building. “Smoke detectors sometimes make the difference,” he said.
Langford said fire officials will be out this morning educating the public about the importance of working smoke alarms in buildings.
It is not clear if other residents live in the building,Langford said. The cause of the fire is still under investigation.
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