At approximately 10:40 a.m. Tuesday, Great Bend firefighters responded to a house fire at 3223 24th St., at the corner of 24th and Harrison. A neighbor, Sonny Tran, said he noticed the smoke coming from the house, went over and knocked on the door, then called 911 to report the fire when no one answered. Tran said the former occupant, Richard B. “Dick” Blazek, had died days before, and people had been at the house the day before.  
Blazek, 81, died Oct. 11 at the Hays Medical Center in Hays, after a brief illness.
Fire Chief Mike Napolitano said the fire was caused by combustibles left too close to a floor furnace, and was considered accidental.
“We got there and saw flames showing,” Napolitano said. The was extensive heat and smoke damage throughout the house.