A man died in an overnight house fire in Cedar Rapids.
Authorities say the house fire was reported shortly before 2 a.m. A neighbor with a ladder helped a 20-year-old Alize Watson escape through the roof of the house. When fire crews arrived, flames and smoke were pouring out of the side and back of the home.
Firefighters entered the burning home, went up a stairway to the second floor and found a 22-year-old Naquave Whitlock in an upstairs bedroom. Crews got him out of the house, but he was pronounced dead at a Cedar Rapids hospital.
Investigators say a frying pot with grease was left unattended on the kitchen stove and that’s what sparked the fire.