Dead man found in St. Charles garage fire

St. Charles firefighters discovered a body Friday night while extinguishing a garage fire, authorities said.

Firefighters received multiple calls about a fire on the 1200 block of South Fourth Street. Dispatchers corrected the address to the 400 block of McKinley Street while crews were en route.

Upon arrival, firefighters from St. Charles, Geneva, Batavia, Elburn and South Elgin found a detached garage engulfed in flames and smoke. It took about 20 minutes to get the blaze under control.

During that effort, firefighters found "an obviously deceased male victim," according to a written statement by Fire Chief Joe Schelstreet.

The Kane County Coroner's office is in charge of victim identification. It has not yet released any information about the man or a cause of death, but a forensic odontologist has been called to help identify the victim, Kane County Coroner Rob Russell said Saturday. An identification will likely be made by Monday, Russell added. St. Charles police are conducting a corresponding death investigation.

Officials estimate the fire caused $100,000 damage to the garage and its contents. The cause of the fire also is under investigation.