Lakewood man dies, woman suffers burns in house fire

A man died and a woman seriously burned early Thursday in a house fire in the Town of Lakewood.

Oconto County Sheriff Todd Skarban said in a news release that the sheriff’s office emergency dispatch center was contacted at 6:33 a.m. July 8 in reference to a residential structure fire on Big Bear Lane.

Sheriff’s deputies and multiple fire departments and found the home engulfed in flames. During fire suppression efforts, first responders located the 74-year-old woman outside the structure and the 78-year-old deceased man inside. Information about the woman’s condition was not immediately released.

An ongoing investigation is being conducted by the sheriff’s office and the Brown County Medical Examiner’s Office, Skarban said. Also responding were fire departments from Lakewood, Townsend, Doty, Mountain, Riverview, Crooked Lake, and Suring, as well as the Lakewood Townsend Ambulance, Mountain Ambulance, County Rescue and the Wisconsin Department of Criminal Investigation-Arson Bureau.

“Our thoughts and prayers are with the family as they deal with the loss of a loved one,” Skarban said.