INDEPENDENCE TOWNSHIP, Mich. \u2013 An 87-year-old man died Wednesday after he was unable to escape from a house fire, officials said.<\/p>\n
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\u2019s 72-year-old wife, according to a release from the Oakland County Sheriff\u2019s Office.<\/p>\n
Officials said she lost sight of her husband, who was in a wheelchair, in the dense smoke and exited the house. <\/p>\n
Deputies went into the house twice, from different areas, to rescue the 87-year-old man, identified as Larry Dean Goforth, \u201cbut were driven back by thick smoke, intense heat and flames each time,\u201d according to the release. <\/p>\n
Firefighters ultimately reached the man and removed him from the house. <\/p>\n
Life-saving measures were administered. The man was taken to the hospital, where he was pronounced dead. <\/p>\n
His wife was taken to the hospital to be treated for smoke inhalation and was released Thursday morning.<\/p>\n
Officials said the cause and origin of the fire are under investigation. <\/p>\n
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