Phone Charger May Have Caused New Lenox House Fire

NEW LENOX, IL - A 69-year-old man who lived at the house on Sanford Avenue that went up in flames on Tuesday morning remains in critical condition at Loyola Medical Center, New Lenox Police told Patch on Wednesday. Larry Crabb Sr. was pulled out of his burning home by his 36-year-old son. The son returned around 9:30 a.m., only to find the structure on fire, deputy police chief Louis Alessandrini said.

The son was able to pull his father out of the house, along with help from a utility line locator who happened to be in the area, police said. The New Lenox Fire District extinguished the blaze along with help from several area fire departments in the Lincoln Way area.

"As of today, we understand that he's still in critical condition," Alessandrini said on Wednesday afternoon, referring to the burn victim, Larry Crabb Sr.

"We're hoping his dad makes a recovery, Alessandrini said.

He said that the fire victim's son, who is in his mid-thirties, lived at the home with both of his parents. The son's mother was not home at the time of the fire. That morning, Larry Crabb Jr. took one of their dogs to the vet. "He came back and the house was fully engulfed with flames," Alessandrini said.

Tragically, the family's second dog died in the fire, Alessandrini said.

At this point, investigators believe the cause of the house was electrical, he said.

The fire may have started at an outlet in the kitchen. "We're not 100 percent sure," Alessandrini stressed. "But there does not appear to be any foul play at all. All indications are that it started in the living room or the kitchen."

The house was destroyed in Tuesday's fire.

After walking through the rubble, fire investigators located remnants of a second-hand iPhone charger that was not an Apple product, Alessandrini said. But for now, the official cause of the fire remains undetermined pending additional investigation by a electrical engineer, he added.

Image via New Lenox Fire Protection District