The coroner has released the identity of a body that was found inside a car that caught on fire and spread to a house, causing significant damage, in Fox Lake Tuesday afternoon.
The Fox Lake Fire Protection District and Fox Lake Police Department responded around 1:56 p.m. Tuesday to the 0-100 block of Scenic Lane for a report of a structure fire.
Fox Lake Fire Protection District Battalion Chief Tom Preidis said crews arrived to find a car parked outside the residence on fire in the driveway.
Flames were coming from the car and from the house after the fire spread to the two-story home at the attached garage.
Approximately six nearby fire departments were called to assist and to cover Fox Lake fire stations.
Fox Lake Fire Chief Ed Lescher said multiple hose lines were deployed to extinguish the fire, which had spread from the garage area to the second story. Firefighters extinguished the fire in under an hour.
Crews found a person deceased inside the car, Preidis said.
Lake County Coroner Jennifer Banek identified the victim on Thursday as Walter Drogos, 76, of Fox Lake.
The coroner’s office was initially not able to positively identify the body but has since identified it as Drogos and notified his family.
An autopsy performed Wednesday showed Drogos suffered severe burns but final determinations on his cause and manner of death are pending toxicology studies, including carbon monoxide testing, Banek said.
A neighbor was believed to have reported the fire. No residents were in the home at the time and firefighters conducted a search of the residence to verify, Lescher said.
The car was completely destroyed and the house, which sustained significant damage, was deemed uninhabitable, Lescher said.
The Round Lake, Lake Villa, Wauconda, Antioch, McHenry and Spring Grove fire departments assisted at the scene or covered Fox Lake fire stations.
The Office of the Illinois State Fire Marshal, Lake County Coroner’s Office and investigators from numerous fire departments were called to the scene.
Fox Lake Police Department Sgt. Rick Howell said officers learned the residence was a summer home and vacant at the time of the fire.
Drogos’ body was found in the driver’s seat of the vehicle, Howell said.
Howell also said the vehicle was backed into the driveway and onto the front entryway stairs where it caught fire.
A preliminary examination of Drogos showed no outward signs of trauma apart from the burn injuries, Howell said.
The incident remains under investigation by the Fox Lake Police Department, Lake County Coroner’s Office, Office of the Illinois State Fire Marshal and area fire investigators.