85-Year-Old Man Dies From Lincoln Park Fire
UPADTED 12/12/11 10:18 a.m.
CHICAGO (CBS) -- An 85-year-old man is dead, after suffering burns to his entire body in a fire at his home on the cusp of the Lincoln Park and East Lakeview neighborhoods.
The blaze started about 10:30 p.m. Saturday on the third floor of the Commonwealth Apartments seniors' residence at 2757 N. Pine Grove Ave. – the northeast corner of Pine Grove Avenue and Diversey Parkway, according to Fire Department Media Affairs.
The victim is identified as Theodore Walton, according to the Cook County Medical Examiner's office. He was taken in critical condition to Advocate Illinois Masonic Medical Center with "full-thickness burns to his entire body," the Fire Department said.
Walton was later transferred to Loyola University Medical Center in Maywood, which has a burn unit, and he was pronounced dead there at 6:37 a.m. Sunday, according to the Medical Examiner's office. An autopsy is set for later Monday.
A Fire Department spokesman said it was difficult for emergency personnel to determine how old the man was at first because he was burned so badly. Paramedics initially thought he was in his 50s or 60s, but once he got to the hospital his age was determined.
Commonwealth Apartments is a government-subsidized seniors' residence. The 12-story, 1920s-era high-rise also houses a 7-11 store and Adel's Hair Sensation salon on the ground floor facing Diversey.
Neighbors said Walton lived alone, was hearing impaired and used and electronic wheelchair.
The Sun-Times Media Wire contributed to this report.
