A 78-year-old man was found dead early Thursday after a house fire in southwest suburban Joliet.
Firefighters responded at 11:19 p.m. Wednesday to a call of a house fire with possible people trapped inside in the 300 block of South Chicago Street, according to the Joliet Fire Department. The first responding company found the two-story house with “heavy fire” coming from the main floor and the front of the second floor.
A 47-year-old man who was rescued from the house told fire crews that another person was still inside, the fire department said. Firefighters attempted to enter through the rear of the house, but were “driven out by the heavy amount of fire.”
After waiting 45 minutes, firefighters gained entry and found Otis Bloodsaw in the front portion of the house, according to the fire department and the Will County coroner’s office.
Bloodsaw, who lived in the home, was pronounced dead at 3:35 a.m. Thursday, the coroner’s office said. Preliminary results from an autopsy Thursday suggested Bloodsaw was the victim of a residential house fire, but the autopsy did not rule on his final cause and manner of death pending further testing and reports.
Five other people were taken to Saint Joseph Medical Center in Joliet for treatment, the fire department said. Two dogs were also found dead in the house following the blaze.
The fire was completely struck out about two hours after Bloodsaw was found, but the house was considered a “total loss,” the fire department said.
The cause of the fire remains under investigation.