Man killed, firefighter injured in DeKalb kitchen fire

A 30-year-old man was killed and a firefighter was injured in a kitchen fire Friday morning in DeKalb.

Firefighters responded about 6:25 a.m. to a report of an apartment fire in the 800 block of Ridge Drive, where they found heavy smoke and heat coming from a one-bedroom apartment, according to the DeKalb Fire Department.

Firefighters entered the apartment and quickly extinguished the fire, the fire department said. Ceasar Collins, who lived at that apartment, was found unresponsive in the bedroom.

Collins was removed from the apartment, treated at the scene and then taken to Northwestern Medicine Kishwaukee Hospital in DeKalb, where he died at 7:44 a.m., according to the fire department and the DeKalb County coroner’s office.

One firefighter was taken to the same hospital, where he was treated and released for a non-life-threatening injury, according to the fire department.

The fire started and was contained to the kitchen, according to the fire department. The rest of the apartment was heavily damaged by heat and smoke. The amount of damage was estimated to be $100,000.

The building was ventilated of smoke and dangerous gases, the fire department said. No other apartments or buildings were affected.

The cause of the fire is under investigation by the DeKalb police and fire departments as well as the Office of the Illinois State Fire Marshal.