A house fire in Pana Tuesday afternoon claimed the life of the resident inside. 86-year-old George Rissler of Pana was pronounced dead in his home.

Pana Fire Chief Rod Bland says they got the call to the fire in the 700 block of S. Oak St. at about 3:15. He says the home was engulfed in flames when fire crews arrived.

It was in April last year that two fires in a matter of weeks took the lives of three people in Pana. Bland says this is the first fatal fire in the community since that time, and it is never easy to handle loss of life.

Bland says the cause of the fire has not yet been determined. Christian County Coroner Amy Calvert Winans released a statement late Thursday morning saying Rissler died of carbon monoxide due to inhalation of smoke and soot from the fire. The Pana Fire Department and the Office of the State Fire Marshal are investigating the blaze.