Gene DeMartelaere, 85, and dog killed in house fire near Miltona
MILTONA, Minn. -- An 85-year-old man and a dog died in a house fire in Douglas County late Sunday evening.
According to the county sheriff's office, emergency crews were alerted of a house fire at about 9:30 p.m. They responded to County Road 102 Northeast, near Miltona.
The house was fully engulfed when crews arrived.
Investigators say that Charles DeMartelaere, 52, attempted to get inside the house to help his father, who lived there. DeMartelaere was unable to reach him due to the smoke, heat and flames. He was taken from the scene to an area hospital for smoke inhalation.
Once the fire was extinguished, crews located the body of 85-year-old Gene DeMartelaere, as well as the remains of a dog.
The sheriff's office said the cause of the fire remains yet to be determined, but doesn't appear to have been suspicious in nature.
