Elderly man may have died after falling six feet while trying to fix heating system

The house where an elderly Lebanon man died on Wednesday while apparently working on a home heating system. (Google Earth photo)

LEBANON - The elderly Lebanon man who died Wednesday apparently trying to service his home's heating system may have fallen five or six feet into a space beneath the floor where the heating system was housed, and may have fallen head first.

"It appears he was laying down on the floor and reaching in to change the filter," said Maine State Police Trooper Michael Lane today.

Lane investigated the accident scene and said it's not clear whether the man may have had a medical issue prior to the fall. That's what they hope will be answered in the autopsy, Lane said.

According to Lebanon Fire and EMS, crews responded to 423 River Road around 6 p.m. on Wednesday after the 75-year-old victim apparently fell head-first into a heating duct as he was trying to change filters.

He was pronounced dead at the scene, his son performing CPR on his father as responders arrived.