Antioch Township man, 76, killed in fire
A 76-year-old man was killed Sunday morning when fire broke out in an upstairs room of an Antioch-area home where he and six others, including his wife, daughter and three of his grandchildren, were living.
Lake County sheriff's officials said Lowell B. Simonson was pronounced dead at Centegra Hospital-McHenry, where he was taken after firefighters pulled him from the burning home on the 38000 block of North Drexel Boulevard.
His wife, Patricia A. Simonson, 74, managed to escape the fire but is in serious condition at the same hospital suffering from smoke inhalation, officials said.
The couple's daughter, three grandchildren and were treated for minor injuries at the scene and released, according to sheriff's police. A firefighter also was hospitalized with an undisclosed injury, officials said.
Sheriff's deputies and the Antioch Fire Department were called to the home at 10:19 a.m. on a report of a residential fire, with one person trapped inside the home.
Preliminary investigation shows that the fire appears to have started in an upstairs room of the residence, the sheriff's office reported.
Firefighters remained on the scene several hours later working to extinguish the flames. Antioch fire officials said that because the home is located in a rural area with no hydrants, water had to be brought to the scene to put out the fire.
The fire left the home a total loss, with only stone exterior walls left standing.
The origin and cause of the fire remain under investigation.