Elderly man dead after West Town fire

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A 92-year-old man is dead after a fire Sunday night in the West Town neighborhood.

According to Fire Media Affairs, there were reports of a person trapped on the second floor of the blaze in the 1900 block of West Ohio Street at 11:15 p.m.

Firefighters found a man in a front room of the second floor of the home and brought him out of the building, said Fire Media Affairs Director Larry Langford.

Frank Cecola, who lived in the home, was taken to John H. Stroger Jr. Hospital of Cook County where he was pronounced dead at 11:41 p.m., according to the Cook County Medical Examiner’s office. An autopsy is scheduled for Monday.

A second person was hospitalized after the blaze with minor injuries, Langford said.

A dozen people from the home where the fire occurred and the home next door, which also suffered damage in the blaze, have been displaced, Langford said.

Langford said the cause of the fire is under investigation, and could not immediately say whether it appears suspicious.

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