Elderly Woman Dies In NW Side Fire
(STMW) -- A 73-year-old woman died Thursday morning in a fire at her home in the Northwest Side Old Irving neighborhood.
The fire occurred in the home at 3350 N. Kedvale Ave. about 11:10 a.m., according to Fire Media Affairs.
The fire caused significant damage to the two-story home, making it uninhabitable, police News Affairs Officer John Mirabelli said.
Patricia Burns, 73, was pronounced dead on the scene at 12:32 p.m., according to the Cook County Medical Examiner's office. An autopsy is scheduled for Friday.
Burns was found dead in the living room of the first floor of the home, which she apparently shared with family, authorities said. She needed oxygen tanks to help her with her breathing and a delivery of oxygen tanks was made earlier Thursday morning, Mirabelli said.
Family members lived in the garden apartment and second floor of the home, police said. No one else was injured.
The woman had three dogs living in the apartment with her, Mirabelli said. One of the dogs got out safely, and another was resuscitated at the scene, but a third perished in the fire.
The fire department's Office of Fire Investigations and the police Bomb and Arson Unit are investigating.
(Source: Sun-Times Media Wire © Chicago Sun-Times 2013. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)
