A woman who was killed in a Garfield Ridge residential fire Sunday morning has been identified, officials said.
Chicago firefighters responded to calls of a residential fire in the 5400 block of South Mulligan Avenue shortly before 11 a.m. and found Alice Marie Zupancic, 76, dead at the scene, Chicago Fire Department spokesman Larry Langford and the Cook County medical examiner’s office said.
The cause of death for Zupancic remained pending, according to the medical examiner’s office.
No other injuries were reported.
Langford said the fire had been “burning for a while” and was “pretty much out” when firefighters arrived on the scene. Investigators believe a family member discovered the fire.
He also said that although the home had working smoke detectors, there were also vacant lots on either side, and the alarms would’ve been hard to hear outside.
Fire investigators determined the fire was caused by the use of “smoking materials” near supplemental medical oxygen.
Langford said it was the second time this month that fire crews had responded to a fire caused by smoking near supplemental oxygen, though the other wasn’t fatal.
“It is definitely a problem, people need to stop smoking when they have oxygen on,” Langford said. “This is what can happen.”
Fatal fire at 5425 Mulligan appears to be caused by use of smoking materials in proximity to supplemental medical oxygen. House did have a working smoke alarm, but no one else was at home at the time.
— Chicago Fire Media (@CFDMedia) January 28, 2024
