Smoking is suspected as the cause of a weekend fire that killed a 51-year-old Wadsworth man, fire officials said Monday.
Andrew Novak of the 38600 block of Pine Grove Avenue and his fiance were awakened shortly before dawn Sunday by the smell of smoke and the sound of windows breaking from the heat, said Sgt. Scott Robin of the Lake County Sheriff’s Department.
Novak told his fiance to escape through a bedroom window of the ranch-style home and call 911, Robin said. Novak then ran into the main area of the house where the fire began, Robin said. The fiance, whom police declined to identify, was not hurt.
When firefighters arrived, they found Novak unconscious on the kitchen floor, Robin said.
Novak was pronounced dead Sunday at Provena St. Therese Medical Center in Waukegan, Lake County Coroner Barbara Richardson said.
A cigarette left smoldering on or near a couch apparently caused the blaze, said Lt. Dave Emanuelson of the Newport Township Fire Protection District. Novak’s fiance said he had gotten up during the night to smoke, Robin said.