68-year-old man dies in Arlington Heights house fire

One man was killed and one woman remains hospitalized Tuesday after an overnight fire on the 1600 block of West Waverly Court in Arlington Heights.

Investigators are working to determine the cause of the fire that began sometime before 2 a.m.

According to Arlington Heights Battalion Chief Bill Essling, firefighters were initially told people were trapped inside.

When police arrived they found one woman in the front yard and one in the backyard, but a 68-year-old man who lived in the house was unaccounted for.

Firefighters entered the house and found the man, who had died.

The names of the victims have not been released and won't be until Wednesday, authorities said.

One of the women, age 68, was taken to Northwest Community Hospital in Arlington Heights where she was treated and released.

A 30-year-old woman was taken to Loyola University Medical Center in Chicago and remained in the hospital Tuesday afternoon, according to the release.

According to Essling, the fire was largely confined to the entryway and den area near the front door and was extinguished in about 10 minutes.

“It was all over pretty quick,” Essling said. “It was a pretty straightforward fire. Unfortunately, there was a fatality.”

The cause was not immediately known. Arlington Heights police and investigators from the state fire marshal's office and the Arlington Heights Fire Department were still at the scene early Tuesday. Departments from Buffalo Grove and Glenview assisted.

Arlington Heights Police Commander Nathan Hayes said he did not yet know if the home had working smoke detectors.