A 64-year-old Woodbridge man was identified as the victim who died in the the Springfield townhouse fire on Thursday.
SPRINGFIELD -- A man who died in a fire in a townhouse on Thursday was identified as a 64-year-old Woodbridge man, authorities said today.
Mark Titus was doing work in the basement of the home at 955 S. Springfield Avenue at about noon Thursday when the fire started, Springfield police Lt. Judd Levenson said. He said Titus was doing cabinetry and varnishing work.
"Instead of calling 911, it appears he tried to extinguish the fire by advancing with a gardening hose," Levenson said.
He said Titus got the hose from a garage, and went back downstairs into the basement that was filling with smoke.
Levenson said Titus apparently tried to escape from the smoke by walking across the basement in an unsuccessful attempt to reach a sliding glass door on the opposite side of the room from the stairs.
"It looks like he was unable to reach to the door," the lieutenant said.
Titus had been hired to do renovations on the home, authorities said.
Firefighters found Titus in the basement and carried him outside, but he was pronounced dead at the scene.
Authorities said the fire apparently started accidentally, but the exact cause is still being investigated by Union County officials.
Levenson said an autopsy determined Titus died of smoke inhalation.
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