A 74-year-old Brookfield man died Wednesday afternoon after his garage caught fire.
According to the Brookfield Fire Department, Edward "Duke" Schultz, 74, was found inside the burned out garage behind 5915 Merwin Chase Road N.E. A neighbor called 911 just after 3 p.m. to report the blaze, which had fully engulfed the former auto body shop by the time firefighters arrived.
A fire official said Schultz's wife told them he had some medical problems and recently started feeling better. She said he was tinkering in the garage when she left for the store and by the time she returned, firefighters already were fighting the flames.
Firefighters said there were nine vehicles in the garage, all belonging to Schultz, who formerly ran an auto body shop out of the garage. Damage is estimated at $300,000 for the structure, the vehicles and numerous tools inside. The fire official said that estimate is probably conservative and damage could be considerably higher.
A motorist called 911 a few minutes after the initial call and reported they could see heavy black smoke in the area of Warner Road and King Graves Road.
It was reported that several animals also died in the fire.
Firefighters from Vienna, Fowler, Hartford and Burghill-Vernon assisted Brookfield. The cause of the fire is under investigation by the state fire marshal, but firefighters said it does not appear suspicious.
The Trumbull County Coroner is investigating the cause of Schultz's death.
