A man who was found dead in the basement of a South Austin apartment building during a fire was identified Wednesday, according to the Cook County medical examiner’s office.
Willie Heard, 62, was discovered in a building in the 5000 block of West Congress Parkway after a fire broke out about 12:25 a.m., according to information from the medical examiner’s office and Chicago police.
His body was found as the Fire Department was extinguishing flames during primary and secondary searches, according to Deputy District Chief Curtis Hudson. He said Heard wasn’t a recognized resident of the building.
It is unclear whether Heard died as a result of the fire; he was not burned, said Hudson, but could have been affected by smoke inhalation. The medical examiner’s office had not released his cause or manner of death Wednesday afternoon.
The six-unit building was half-occupied, officials said. The fire started on a back porch of a first-floor unit and spread to the second floor, Hudson said.
The cause remains under investigation.