Coroner: 4-year-old boy dead after Mundelein house fire

A 4-year-old boy is dead following a house fire in Mundelein overnight, according the Lake County coroner’s office.

An autopsy is scheduled for later today.

Mundelein fire crews were called to the one-story, single-family home on the 200 block of Dalton Avenue just after 12:20 a.m. by neighbors.

Firefighters encountered heavy smoke and fire showing from three sides of the home, fire officials said.

Family members on scene reported the boy was missing and firefighters made multiple attempts to reach him in the basement of the home, but were driven back by heavy flames and smoke as well as stairs and flooring that was compromised by the flames, fire officials said.

Fire officials remained on scene until about 8:30 a.m., but investigators from a county task force and the state fire marshal remain on the scene.

The cause of the fire remains under investigation.

The house was rendered uninhabitable and sustained an estimated $400,000 in damage, according to fire officials.