The coroner has released the identity of a 39-year-old man who was found dead in the garage of a burning home in Buffalo Grove last month.
The Buffalo Grove Fire Department and Buffalo Grove Police Department responded around 10:22 a.m. on July 22 to the 600 block of Woodhollow Lane in Buffalo Grove for a report of a structure fire.
Village officials said a 911 caller reported the fire was in a garage attached to a house.
Firefighters arrived within five minutes of receiving the call and found a two-story residence with an attached garage.
Heavy flames were coming from the garage and spreading to the house.
There were also reports of an occupant unaccounted for, village officials said.
Firefighters began an aggressive interior attack with hose lines operating on both the garage and house. They also started a search for trapped occupants.
Firefighters found the missing occupant inside the garage, according to Lake County Coroner Jennifer Banek. The victim was pronounced dead at the scene.
An autopsy was performed at the coroner’s office and the results showed the man’s death was consistent with thermal injuries and inhalation of products of combustion.
The man was believed to be a 39-year-old resident of the home but a positive identification was not immediately able to be made and scientific examination was needed, Banek said.
The coroner’s office said on Friday that the victim was positively identified as Aaron Lambert, 39, of Buffalo Grove.
A dental exam with a forensic odontologist was conducted which led to the positive identification.
The fire was brought under control in approximately 30 minutes but the fire department remained on the scene into the afternoon investigating the cause of the fire.
A neighboring home sustained damaged siding from the fire.
The investigation is being led by the Buffalo Grove Fire Department and the Office of the Illinois State Fire Marshal.
The Buffalo Grove Fire Department was assisted by the Arlington Heights, Lincolnshire, Lindenhurst, Lake Forest, Long Grove, Wheeling, Prospect Heights, Glenview, Wauconda and Rolling Meadows fire departments.
The Buffalo Grove Public Works Department also responded to the scene after a water main broke while firefighters were extinguishing the fire.
The water main break resulted in the street and sidewalk flooding but did not slow the fire department down in extinguishing the blaze.
Public works crews were afraid of a collapse in the roadway and they kept people away from the area while working to mitigate the leak.