(WWJ) A tragic house fire claimed the life of an 87-year-old man on Wednesday evening, in Oakland County's Independence Township.
The victim, identified as Larry Dean Goforth, was unable to escape his burning home while using a wheelchair, according to investigators.
Oakland County Sheriff’s deputies and the Independence Township Fire Department responded to a home on Clintonville Road, at around 6:30 p.m., after a 911 call came in from Goforth’s wife.
Upon arrival, deputies tried to get into the house to rescue Goforth, but officials said they were repeatedly driven back by a combination of thick smoke, intense heat, and growing flames.
Firefighters eventually managed to reach Goforth and get him out.
While emergency responders attempted life-saving measures at the scene, he was later pronounced dead at a hospital.
An autopsy conducted on Thursday morning confirmed the cause of death was smoke inhalation, officials said.
Goforth’s 72-year-old wife told authorities that the smoke became so dense inside the home that she lost sight of her husband before she was forced to flee. She was hospitalized Wednesday evening for smoke inhalation but was treated and released early Thursday morning.
The cause and origin of the fire remains under investigation by the Sheriff’s Office Fire Investigations Unit.
