INDEPENDENCE TOWNSHIP, Mich. – An 87-year-old man died Wednesday after he was unable to escape from a house fire, officials said.
Deputies and Independence Township fire officials responded to the 7000 block of Clintonville Road at 6:30 p.m. on Wednesday, April 22, after receiving a call from the man’s 72-year-old wife, according to a release from the Oakland County Sheriff’s Office.
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Officials said she lost sight of her husband, who was in a wheelchair, in the dense smoke and exited the house.
Deputies went into the house twice, from different areas, to rescue the 87-year-old man, identified as Larry Dean Goforth, “but were driven back by thick smoke, intense heat and flames each time,” according to the release.
Firefighters ultimately reached the man and removed him from the house.
Life-saving measures were administered. The man was taken to the hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
His wife was taken to the hospital to be treated for smoke inhalation and was released Thursday morning.
Officials said the cause and origin of the fire are under investigation.