Marine Corps veteran who died in Austin fire ID’d

CHICAGO (WLS) — The 70-year-old Marine Corps veteran who died in a fire at an apartment in the Austin neighborhood on the city’s West Side Wednesday morning has been identified.

Maurice O’Neal was pronounced dead just after 11:15 a.m. Wednesday, the Cook County Medical Examiner’s Office said.

Firefighters were out in the Austin neighborhood handing out smoke detectors Thursday morning, after the fatal fire.

Investigators said electrical issues caused the blaze, and there were working smoke detectors in the building.

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Once firefighters got to the building in the 1600-block of North Mayfield Avenue near North Avenue Wednesday, they were met with heavy fire conditions but were still able to go inside and attack the flames quickly.

“They were met with extreme heat and fire, made a nice aggressive interior attack and quickly stopped it from spreading to the next building,” CFD Deputy District Chief Kelly Burns said.

Fire officials said O’Neal was found dead on the first floor. Neighbors said he was a U.S. Marine Corps veteran who used a wheelchair.

“Knowing that he was disabled when they first opened the door and they pulled out his wheelchair, I knew he had to have been in there,” neighbor Koya Scott said.

A firefighter also suffered non-life threatening injuries.

The video in the player above is from an earlier report.