Darien 96-Year-Old Found Slumped In Fire Last Month: Report

DARIEN, IL – A 96-year-old woman who died shortly after being rescued from a Darien fire last month was found near flames, authorities said.

Through a public records request, Patch on Monday obtained the report on the fire from the Tri-State Fire Protection District.

The fire was in the early evening of Nov. 4 at 6813 Clarendon Hills Road.

Firefighters discovered the woman slumped in a wheelchair about 3 feet from flames in the dining area, according to the report.

They moved the woman to the front yard. She was then taken by ambulance to Hinsdale Hospital, where she died.

The fire's cause is "currently an open case and undetermined," the district's investigator, Howard Hoffman, told Patch in an email.

Firefighters also looked for a cat and a dog, but were unable to find them. The dog was located, but Hoffman said he had not heard about the cat's status.

The report said the fire started in the kitchen.

The woman, whose name was not listed in the report, was born on Oct. 2, 1929. That was about three weeks before the stock market crash that led to the Great Depression.