Man Pulled from Crystal Lake House Fire Has Been Identified

Preliminary autopsy findings show that a man pulled from a Crystal Lake house fire Tuesday afternoon died from a heart-related medical problem, according to the McHenry County Coroner’s Office.

The man, who police believed to be plumber who had been working at a Crystal Lake home, has been identified as John H. Kelly Jr. of Woodstock, according to the coroner’s office. The autopsy showed a blood clot in Kelly’s coroner artery caused his death.

Kelly was found inside a home that had caught fire in the 1100 block of North Shore Drive Tuesday afternoon. A neighbor pulled him from a house fire.

Crews were called to the blaze at 2:41 p.m. Tuesday where they found an active fire and the man outside the home showing no signs of life, according to a Crystal Lake Police Department press release.

The fire at the 1 1/2 story coach house was brought under control within 15 minutes. The home sustained $25,000 in damage and is currently uninhabitable.

A passerby was the first to notice smoke coming from the home and alerted a neighbor. The neighbor went into the home and dragged the male victim out.

The man had been working with a torch inside the home prior to the blaze. His identity is being withheld at this time as police notify his family.

Several fire departments responded to the fire, including, Algonquin-Lake in the Hills, McHenry, Huntley, Nunda Township, Cary, East Dundee, Lakewood, Wonder Lake and Fox River Grove.

The blaze remains under investigation.