A small and faded American flag still flaps in the breeze as it sits on a severely scorched mobile home in Des Plaines.

Authorities believe the fire that consumed the black-and-white sided trailer early Thursday killed its owner, 51-year-old Glen Koehler.

An autopsy is scheduled for today for the badly burned man found in the living room of the mobile home on Lot 295 in the Town and Country Mobile Home Park in Des Plaines.

Fire officials said although a positive identification has yet to be made, they are fairly certain it was Koehler, since he is the only owner and occupant.

Koehler had multiple sclerosis, an often crippling neurological disease, and that may explain why he wasn't able to get out, Fire Chief Tom Farinella said.

"It's just really sad to hear about the man dying," said Darlene Gurka, who lives in the row of houses just north of the site of the blaze. She said she did not know Koehler.

Firefighters got the call from a neighbor at about 5:45 a.m. Thursday. Gurka said she looked out her window Thursday morning and saw fire trucks and neighbors coming out of their houses in the park just east of Maine West High School.

Gurka said she went outside to knock on doors to help other residents get out.

About 20 Des Plaines firefighters were able to contain the fire, but some of the siding on the house immediately north was damaged by smoke and flames. "They put it out real quick," Gurka said of firefighters.

The last fire truck left the scene at about 8 a.m. Fire officials said the one-bedroom house was a total loss.

The cause of the fire is still under investigation, but Farinella said it appears accidental. Although neighbors and other published reports point to a cigarette as the cause, Farinella said he doesn't believe that's the case.

Farinella said it is not unusual for a nearby trailer to be damaged by in a fire because they are only a few feet away from each other.

The tight spacing is only one of the problems firefighters encounter with a trailer park fire. Perhaps even more significant is how soon flames can engulf the houses.

"The problem is inherent in the structure of the trailer. They go up quickly," Farinella said.

Gurka agreed with that assessment.

"There's just nothing left in that house. It was so much smoke. Unbelievable," she said.

Terry Nelson, president of the Mobile Home Owners Association of Illinois, said that is a problem with the older manufactured homes.

"Thank God the newer ones are made a little better," Nelson said.

Gurka said there was another fire in the park four or five months ago that destroyed another house. The owner wasn't injured but has yet to move back, she said.

Officials in the Town and Country management office declined to comment on Thursday's fire. Town and Country's owner, Bud Zeman, who owns dozens of mobile home parks in the Chicago area, could not be reached for comment.