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A tragic fire claimed the life of a man in his 70s in Merrionette Park, Illinois, on Sunday night, according to neighbors and fire officials.
Emergency services were dispatched to the location around 7:09 p.m., responding to a blaze in the 11700-block of South Homan Avenue.
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Upon arrival, firefighters discovered one mobile home completely engulfed in flames. Sadly, they found a deceased individual inside.
Officials reported that two additional people at the scene were treated for smoke inhalation.
The fire not only destroyed the initial mobile home but also inflicted significant damage on two neighboring homes.
Officials have not yet identified the man killed, but neighbors said he was a longtime resident.
Only charred remains of the man’s home were left Monday.
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Neighbors said they scrambled to try to help during the blaze.
“Everyone knew that he was in there. And it was unbelievable,” neighbor Erin McBride said.
The flames could be seen on McBride’s security camera inside Merrionette Park’s Oak Lane community.
“It was so close. And it was just so quick. It happened, and it spread so quickly,” she said.
Unwilling to wait for the fire department, some of the neighbors tried unsuccessfully to break through the door to get their neighbor out.
“The whole doorway was burnt up. You couldn’t get in the door. We tried breaking out the windows to call him to get to the window. We could pull him through or do anything but, at that point another neighbor came over this way with a police officer and another boom went off and the whole front. It was impossible,” neighbor Carol Jankowski said.
“He was on oxygen. He didn’t go out much. He was a decent neighbor. We came over several times when he needed help. It’s sad,” Jankowski said.
The cause of the fire remains under investigation.
