Highland authorities are still investigating a fire that killed a 73-year-old man early Tuesday.
Highland Police were sent around 4 a.m. March 12 to the 2300 block of 81st Street in Wicker Park Manor for a house fire, where they arrived to flames pouring out of a first-floor window, the Post-Tribune reported previously. Two women covered in soot who’d escaped the fire met the officers in the front yard and told them there should still be an adult man inside in an upstairs bedroom, Highland Police spokesman Cmdr. John Banasiak said.
The Lake County Coroner’s office identified the victim as Highland resident Lee Liberman, according to a Wednesday release. The preliminary cause of his death was smoke inhalation, but a toxicology report is pending, the release stated.
After alerting dispatch to tell firefighters of what to expect, officers attempted to get inside through the front door, Banasiak said. They got just inside when they were met with thick black smoke and intense heat that forced them back outside, he said.
The Highland Fire Department, the Highland Police Department and the State Fire Marshal’s Office are investigating.
Michelle L. Quinn is a freelance reporter for the Post-Tribune.