At about 1:30 p.m., the Chicago Fire Department responded to the building fire in the 2400-block of West Gunnison, located near Lawrence and Western on the North Side.
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The man was found in the attic of a 2.5-story residential building.
Fire crews had to extinguish the fire on each floor before getting to the attic, which took a while, said Chicago Fire Deputy Chief David Dietz.
One neighbor tried to rescue the victim.
"I told him to jump. He wouldn't jump. From that moment, we lost contact. The smoke was really heavy at that moment," said neighbor Anthony Hoang.
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This is the 14th fire death this year, compared to 12 last year through the same point.
Thursday, Chicago Fire Media said the fire was caused by a cooking accident involving a can of charcoal lighter.
About 5 - 10 people were displaced due to the fire.