Oak Forest Man Dies In Apartment Fire
CHICAGO (STMW) -- Fire officials are investigating the cause of an early morning apartment fire that claimed the life of the 58-year-old tenant in south suburban Oak Forest.
Stanley Chmura, of the 5000 block of West 159th Street, was found in the living room of his small apartment after the fire was extinguished, Fire Chief Terry Lipinski said.
Chmura was revived at the scene, transported to South Suburban Hospital in Hazel Crest, and then transferred to Loyola Medical Center in Maywood, where he died, the chief said.
According to his brother Ed Chmura, Stanley Chmura lived alone and tended to be a loner. He was the divorced father of three adult sons and grandfather of six.
Stanley moved to Oak Forest from Cicero to be closer to his sons, he said.
"He was going through some rough times," said Ed Chmura, of Cicero. "We tried to keep in touch."
His brother was born on Christmas Day, and was usually "depressed" around the holidays, he said.
Funeral arrangements are pending.
Firefighters responded to the fire at 1:30 a.m. and were able to contain the blaze to Chmura's first-floor apartment, Lipinski said.
Police evacuated other tenants, but no other units were damaged, he said.
Fire officials did not know where or how the fire started, and there were no indications of foul play, Lipinski said.
