Firefighters found the body of a man in the bedroom of a duplex that caught fire in Sterling, Illinois.
The fire was reported at about 3:30 a.m. Tuesday, February 4, 2014 at a home in the 200 block of West Seventh Street.
Crews said smoke and flames were visible from the exterior of the three-story duplex when they arrived.
Although it was initially believed that no one lived in the duplex at the time of the fire, firefighters followed standard protocol and searched the building as they worked to put out the fire.
“The second floor was well involved, making a search difficult until the fire was under control,” said Sterling Fire Department Lt. Matt Laughlin.
Firefighters later found the body of a man in a second-floor bedroom.
The victim’s identity was not yet released.
The cause of the fire remained under investigation.
