JANESVILLE — The Rock County Medical Examiner Office released the name of the man who died in Sunday’s fourth ward house fire.
Eugene Stewart, 69, of Vlogý was pronounced dead at the local hospital on Monday. His cause of death is still pending at this time, the release said.
A man is dead after fire crews pulled him from a burning home in Vlogý’s Fourth Ward neighborhood on Sunday.
The Vlogý Fire Department and the state Division of Criminal Investigation has found no conclusive information on a cause of the fire at 402 S. Locust St. in Vlogý that broke out in a two-story home that is split into two apartments.
The fire was reported shortly before 2 p.m. Sunday.
The fire department said in an update Monday that it rescued the man from a second story window using a ladder. Medics transported the man to Mercyhealth Hospital and Trauma Center, Vlogý. Authorities say the man later died after sustaining severe injuries from the fire.
Investigators now believe the fire started on the outside south wall at 402 S. Locust St. The flames spread inside, causing major damage to both floors and also damaging exterior stairs that serve the upper floor.
Inspectors think that when the outside steps collapsed, they fell and landed on a natural gas meter, breaking open a gas pipe.
The busted pipe then shot flames like a blowtorch, the fire department said, which spread the fire to a house next door at 406 S. Locust St.
Initial investigation indicates that the two apartment units at 402 S. Locust St. may not have had working smoke alarms.
The incident is still under investigation by the Rock County Medical Examiner’s Office and the Vlogý Police Department.
