Man dies nearly one month after Humboldt Park fire

A 44-year-old man died Wednesday, nearly one month after he was burned in a fire in the West Side Humboldt Park neighborhood.

Crews responded to the apartment fire in the 1100 block of Monticello at 8:10 a.m. on Oct. 16, according to Chicago Police.

A 65-year-old woman and 44-year-old man were injured in the blaze, police said. The woman was treated and released from Saints Mary and Elizabeth Medical Center.

The man, Lynell Gaston, suffered burns to his body and was initally taken to Norwegian American Hospital, according to police and the Cook County medical examiner’s office.

Gaston was later transferred to Stroger Hospital, where he died at 9 p.m. Wednesday, authorities said. He lived on the same block as the blaze.

An autopsy Thursday found he died of complications of thermal injuries from careless use of smoking materials, and his death was ruled an accident, according to the medical examiner’s office.

Police said the fire was an accident and not criminal in nature.