SOUTH ROXANA (AP) – A coroner says that a 78-year-old man found dead in a southwestern Illinois house succumbed to smoke inhalation.
Madison County Coroner Stephen Nonn says Amil Goskie was found in a back room of the home leveled by the fire Monday in South Roxana.
Fire Chief Ed Allsman says the room where the man’s body was found is near a wood-burning stove. Allsman suspects the stove might have caused the fire, which gutted the home.
State fire investigators are trying to determine what sparked the blaze.
South Roxana is a 2,000-resident village just northeast of St. Louis.
Funeral arrangements are pending.