Victims of fatal fire at Union-area home identified

Two people who died in a house fire Tuesday morning near Union have been identified, the McHenry County Coroner’s Office announced.

Eric Dettmer, 73, of Union and Mark Dodge, 71, of Campbell, New York, died in the fire, Coroner Michael Rein said in a news release.

Autopsies are scheduled for Thursday.

“The coroner’s office is continuing to work collaboratively with the McHenry County Sheriff’s Office and Union fire department during this investigation,” Rein said in a news release.

The Marengo Fire and Rescue Districts and the Union Fire Protection District responded to a call at 4:07 a.m. Tuesday in the 9600 block of Knolltop Road near Union for a residential fire and found two people, a cat and a dog dead in the home, Marengo Fire and Rescue Districts communication specialist Alex Vucha said in a news release.

The cause of the fire is under investigation by the Illinois State Fire Marshal, Marengo Fire and Rescue Districts, Union Fire Protection District and the McHenry County Sheriff’s Office.