Crime & Safety
Victim of Fatal House Fire Identified
Sung Y. Kwack, a Howard University professor, has been identified as the victim of Sunday's fatal fire.
Montgomery County Fire and Rescue Service officials have identified the man who at 8509 Scarboro Ct. as Sung Y. Kwack, a 74-year-old Potomac resident.
Fire and Rescue responded to the fire around 4:40 a.m. on Sunday and found Kwack and another male victim in his mid 70s in the house. Kwack was transported to Suburban Hospital and advanced life support treatment was initiated immediately but he was pronounced dead a short time later.
The second elderly male was treated for smoke inhalation and is in stable condition.
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Kwack was a professor at Howard University, according to a NBC story, and the university's website shows that he taught in the Department of Economics. Kwack earned a Ph.D. from the University of California-Berkeley and specialized in teaching monetary economics as well as international finance, according to the his profile on Howard University's website.
Kwack's wife, also a Howard University employee, was out of town when the fire occurred, according to the NBC story.
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An autopsy to determine the cause of death will be conducted.
The fire, which started because of a cooking accident, caused about $400,000 damage, said Assistant Fire Chief Scott Graham.
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