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Iowa man dies after first escaping, re-entering burning home

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March 8th, 2017 by Ric Hanson

LAKE VIEW, Iowa (AP) — Authorities say a 47-year-old Lake View man who initially escaped a house fire with his wife later died after running back into the home. The Sac County Sheriff’s Office says in a news release that first responders were called to the house Tuesday afternoon for a fire. Firefighters found the body of Jerry Wayne Brauckman just outside the home.

Investigators say Brauckman and his wife were upstairs when they smelled smoke and fled, but that Brauckman re-entered the home to find the source of the fire. He apparently became disoriented in the smoke and eventually broke out a window on an enclosed porch to escape, but died once outside.

An autopsy has been ordered. Investigators say the fire started around a space heater.