Man, 70, dies day after Joliet fire

A 70-year-old Hickory Hills man died a day after he was injured in a fire Friday in southwest suburban Joliet.

Joliet police and fire were dispatched about 9:45 p.m. to a home in the 1100 block of Charlesworth Avenue where a fire was reported with someone still inside, according to Joliet police.

Police entered the home and found a man who had been severely burned, police said.

The man was removed from the home and taken to Silver Cross Hospital in New Lenox with life-threatening injuries, police said. He was later transferred to Loyola Medical Center in Maywood.

Donnie Creal, 70, who lived at the home, was pronounced dead at 12:36 p.m. Saturday, according to the Cook County medical examiner’s office. An autopsy Sunday found he died of thermal injuries from the fire.

A police officer was also taken to Silver Cross Hospital to be treated for smoke inhalation, police said. He has since been released.

Police said a propane heater was believed to cause the fire.