The coroner has released the identity of a 72-year-old woman who was found dead in a fire that caused extensive damage to her house in Gurnee last week.
An autopsy performed on Joann Yamamoto, 72, of Gurnee, showed her death was consistent with smoke inhalation, according to Lake County Coroner Jennifer Banek.
The Gurnee Fire Department and Gurnee Police Department responded around 9:11 p.m. on April 15 to the 1600 block of Dolcetto Lane in Gurnee for a report of a structure fire.
Gurnee Fire Department Battalion Chief Tim Steffens said multiple 911 calls were received reporting the fire.
Police officers arrived first and attempted to make entry after the callers reported someone was possibly still inside the home.
Officers were unable to make entry to the front or back of the house due to the entryways being blocked with furniture and household items.
Steffens said fire crews arrived to find a single-story house with heavy flames and smoke showing from the rear of the residence.
The incident was upgraded to the Working Still Alarm to bring additional fire crews to the scene.
Firefighters attempted to make entry but encountered hoarder conditions that prevented them from making it inside, Steffens said.
The fire originated in the rear of the home and spread into the roof line.
Three hose lines were used to bring the fire under control from the exterior before firefighters again attempted entry.
Steffens said it took firefighters approximately 20-30 minutes to bring the fire under control and crews spent another hour extinguishing hidden fires.
Firefighters searched the home and located Yamamoto, who was pronounced dead at the scene.
The Office of the Illinois State Fire Marshal and the Lake County Coroner’s Office both responded to the scene.
Banek said that Yamamoto resided at the house where the fire occurred.
An autopsy was performed on Yamamoto on April 16 and the preliminary results showed her death was the result of smoke inhalation. Toxicology testing, including carbon monoxide levels, are pending.
Her identity was not publicly released until Wednesday as the coroner’s office had been working with the Gurnee Police Department to search for relatives of the woman and notify them of her death.
No other injuries were reported and no pets were found in the fire.
Steffens said the house was deemed uninhabitable as it sustained extensive fire and smoke damage.
Firefighters remained at the scene until around 1 a.m. the following day.
The Newport and Grayslake fire departments assisted at the scene while the Waukegan, Libertyville, Zion, Mundelein and Lake Villa fire departments covered calls in Gurnee.
The fire is not believed to be suspicious in nature but the cause remains under investigation by the Office of the Illinois State Fire Marshal and the Gurnee Fire Department, Steffens said.