BURNHAM | Fire officials on Thursday continued investigating a Wednesday morning blaze that appears to have killed a 60-year-old disabled veteran.

Thomas Zemkewicz was dead in the home at 143rd Street and Manistee Avenue when firefighters put out the fire about 6:30 a.m., according to a news release from Burnham police.

A Cook County medical examiner's office representative said an autopsy was completed Thursday for the victim from that address, but his cause of death still is pending further information.

Januari Smith, Illinois state fire marshal's office spokesman, said her department and the Burnham Fire Department still are investigating the cause of the fire.

Neighbor Eloisa Manalo, 56, said she has been wondering what started the fire and if it was related to the fact that her neighbor was a smoker.

She woke up Wednesday morning to see flames outside of her bedroom window, she said.

"There are very few times in my life when I get scared," Manalo said. "(Wednesday morning) was one of the scariest moments of my life. It was too close for comfort."

Zemkewicz's health seemed to have worsened in the past year, Manalo said. He was a Vietnam veteran, she said. She didn't know him very well, but she shed tears for him when he was taken out of the house, Manalo said.

"Losing a life over something unnecessary, it's sad, really sad," she said. "It was untimely. It could've been avoided."