The sheriff’s office says foul play is not suspected but an autopsy is pending after a person was found dead inside a house that caught on fire near Crystal Lake Sunday afternoon.
The Crystal Lake Fire Rescue Department responded around 3:22 p.m. Sunday to the 60 block of Della Street in unincorporated Crystal Lake for a report of a structure fire.
Crystal Lake Fire Chief Craig Snyder said a 911 caller reported smoke coming from a single-family residence.
Firefighters arrived to find light smoke coming from the home and prepared to enter the home to extinguish the fire.
Fire crews entered the house and encountered smoky conditions before locating a small fire, Snyder said.
While firefighters were extinguishing the fire, they located a deceased person in the home near where the fire occurred, Snyder said.
Fire crews quickly extinguished the fire and secured the scene for fire investigators and law enforcement.
The Nunda Rural, McHenry, Huntley and Algonquin fire protection districts responded to assist.
The McHenry County Sheriff’s Office is assisting the Crystal Lake Fire Rescue Department in the investigation. The McHenry County Coroner’s Office was also called to the scene.
The sheriff’s office told Lake and McHenry County Scanner on Monday that the fire was spotted by a neighbor who then called 911.
The cause of death for the victim remains pending the autopsy but foul play is not suspected, the sheriff’s office said.
Snyder said the cause of the fire remains under investigation. The coroner’s office has not released the identity of the victim as of late Monday.