BERWYN, Ill. (STMW) – A west suburban man died Wednesday night from a fire in his home.
The fire in the bungalow-style home in the 2400 block of South Euclid Avenue in Berwyn was reported at 7:37 p.m., according to Assistant Berwyn Fire Chief Sam Molinaro. Two people lived in the home but only one — identified by the Cook County Medical Examiner’s office as 56-year-old James Brelowski — was home at the time, Molinaro said.
About 10 minutes after they arrived, an unresponsive Brelowski was brought out of the home by firefighters, Molinaro said. He was then taken to MacNeal Hospital in Berwyn, where he was pronounced dead at 8:28 p.m., the medical examiner’s office said.
One firefighter was taken to the hospital after slipping and falling on some ice, Molinaro said.
Molinaro estimated about 60 percent of the home was destroyed, with smoke and water damage throughout, including the basement. There was heavy fire damage in the attic; the roof partially collapsed; and the first floor sustained moderate to heavy fire damage, he said.
An autopsy on Thursday found Brelowski died from carbon monoxide toxicity, brought on by inhalation of products of combustion from a residential fire, the medical examiner’s office said. The autopsy also found ethanol intoxication to be a contributing factor in the death, which was ruled an accident.
Firefighters remained on the scene until about midnight. The cause of the fire was under investigation by Division 11 MABAS and the state Fire Marshal’s office.
(Source: Sun-Times Media Wire © Chicago Sun-Times 2013. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)
