Man Dies In Northbrook Fire

By Mary Chappell

NORTHBROOK, Ill. (CBS) — A man died as a result of a house fire in Northbrook Saturday morning, fire officials said.

Fire crews responded to the 1500 block of Walters Avenue at about 6:43 a.m. and located and removed the victim, who was the only person inside the home.

He was taken to a local hospital in critical condition and later pronounced dead, Northbrook fire confirmed. He was identified as Hee Lee, 81.

"We heard the fire alarms and the sirens, and we looked out, and my husband's like, 'I smell smoke' – and sure enough, there is," said neighbor Hedi Wissmann. "Another neighbor of ours is the one that saw the smoke coming and tried to rouse him and call the fire department."

The fire was extinguished in about 20 minutes and nobody else was injured.

The fire investigation team was still on the scene at 9 a.m.