Firefighters found a woman in her 60s dead while working to extinguish a fire that heavily damaged a house in Waukegan early Friday morning, officials said.
The Waukegan Fire Department and Waukegan Police Department responded around 12:19 a.m. Friday to the 2300 block of Corona Road for a report of a structure fire.
Waukegan Fire Marshal Todd Zupec said firefighters arrived to find heavy flames coming from the front of a house.
Neighbors saw the fire and called 911, prompting the response.
Firefighters had a “very difficult” time entering the home due to hoarding conditions, Zupec said.
The incident was upgraded to the box alarm through the Mutual Aid Box Alarm System (MABAS).
Zupec said additional resources were requested through MABAS due to the inability to easily access the home and the amount of fire.
Firefighters discovered a victim inside the home during search operations and removed them.
Zupec said the victim was pronounced dead at the scene. No other injuries were reported.
The Lake County Coroner’s Office responded to the scene and is scheduling an autopsy on the victim.
Lake County Chief Deputy Coroner Steve Newton said the victim was a female in her 60s. The autopsy is scheduled for later Friday.
The fire was brought under control after approximately 30 minutes but crews continued working to fully extinguish the fire, Zupec said.
Firefighters performed extensive overhaul operations during the process of completely extinguishing the fire.
Numerous fire departments from the surrounding area assisted the Waukegan Fire Department at the scene and covered Waukegan fire stations.
The cause of the fire remains under investigation by the Waukegan Fire Department. A damage estimate was not immediately available.