A man is dead after an early Tuesday morning house fire in Highland with smoke so thick, officers couldn’t reach him.
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Highland Police were sent around 4 a.m. March 12 to the 2300 block of 81st Street in Wicker Park Manor for a house fire, where they arrived to flames pouring out of a first-floor window, Police spokesman Cmdr. John Banasiak said in a release Tuesday.
Two women covered in soot who’d escaped the fire met the officers in the front yard and told them there should still be a man inside in an upstairs bedroom, he said.
After alerting dispatch to tell firefighters of what to expect, officers attempted to get inside through the front door, Banasiak said. They got just inside when they were met with thick, black smoke and intense heat that forced them back outside, he said.
The Highland Fire Department eventually found the man, who was already deceased, he said.
The Highland Fire Department, the Highland Police Department and the State Fire Marshal’s Office are investigating.
Michelle L. Quinn is a freelance reporter for the Post-Tribune.