84-year-old man dies in Algonquin fire

A Tuesday night house fire in Algonquin claimed the life of an 84-year-old Algonquin man, whom authorities say died Wednesday morning of smoke inhalation.

Patrick Sheahan was found dead after the fire burned through the floor of his ranch home on the 4700 block of Iroquois Road, according to the Algonquin-Lake in the Hills Fire Protection District.

Sheahan's autopsy was completed Wednesday afternoon and it determined smoke inhalation was his official cause of death, according to Paula Gallas, McHenry County's deputy coroner.

According to fire district officials, a neighbor called 911 about the fire at 11:11 p.m. and fire crews were on the scene four minutes later to find smoke and fire showing. Searching the home, they found Sheahan and a dog, which also died. Sheahan was pronounced dead at 12:15 a.m. Wednesday. Nobody else lived in the house, Gallas said.

The district's fire investigators and the Office of the Illinois State Fire Marshal are investigating, and the cause of the fire is not yet known. Authorities also did not have a damage estimate Wednesday.

There were no injuries fighting the fire, officials said.

Ÿ Daily Herald staff writer Lenore T. Adkins contributed to this story.