Woman dies after clothes catch fire in Morton Grove home

An 87-year-old woman died of injuries she suffered when her clothing caught fire as she cooked Friday morning in her north suburban Morton Grove home, authorities said.

Firefighters responded about 11:20 a.m. to Alice Gutenkauf’s home in the 8400 block of Mason Avenue, according to the Morton Grove Fire Department and Cook County medical examiner’s office.

Gutenkauf’s clothing caught fire as she heated water in her kitchen and she suffered first and third-degree-burns to 70 percent of her body, the fire department said.

She was taken to Lutheran General Hospital in Park Ridge, but was later transferred to Loyola University Medical Center in Maywood, where she died at 8:38 p.m., authorities said.

Her death was ruled accidental after an autopsy on Saturday, the medical examiner’s office said.