Smoking may have caused fatal Berwyn house fire

SHARE Smoking may have caused fatal Berwyn house fire

(BERWYN) A man died Sunday during a fire at his west suburban home that may have been caused by careless smoking.

Someone walking in the 3800 block of Grove Avenue in Berwyn about 2:20 p.m. Sunday called 911 to report a house fire, Berwyn Fire Chief Denis O’Halloran said.

Firefighters arrived and found the entire two-story home on fire, with smoke blowing out the windows, he said.

The firefighters attacked the fire from the exterior, then went inside to search and found the victim on the first floor, O’Halloran said.

Kevin Jatczak, 54, was pronounced dead at the scene, according to the Cook County medical examiner’s office.

An autopsy Monday found Jatczak died of inhalation of smoke and soot from the fire, but did not rule on manner of death

The second-floor tenant was not home at the time of the fire, and no one else was hurt.

O’Halloran said smoking has not been ruled out as a possible cause of the fire, which left the home a complete loss.

The Latest
Scott Eby was sentenced to life in prison after admitting to kidnapping Riley from her unlocked Wilmington home, stuffing her in the trunk of his car, sexually assaulting and drowning her in a creek
Talking with the Sun-Times on Friday, White discussed the opinions of him over the years - the media’s included - as well as how he’s not hidden from those opinions and actually used them to his benefit.
Scores, highlights and more from Friday’s action.
About 10 p.m., the person was in the 4200 block of West Congress Parkway when she was struck by a red SUV that fled north on Kildare Avenue, Chicago police said.