A fire caused by unattended cooking led to the death of a 31-year-old man in a St. Paul duplex early Sunday, according to fire officials.

According to a statement from the Fire Department:

Firefighters responded to the side-by-side duplex on the 1900 block of Upper Afton Road, in the city's Battle Creek neighborhood, after neighbors reported smoke about 12:50 a.m. Flames had spread from the unattended food to kitchen cabinets, creating a lot of smoke and gutting the room.

The firefighters quickly extinguished the flames after they arrived. On their search of the unit, they found the man unresponsive in a rear bedroom. Paramedics treated him at the scene, but he died later at Regions Hospital in St. Paul. His name has not been released.

The man was home alone.

No damage estimate was available Sunday morning.

It was the first fire-related death in St. Paul this year. The last fatal fire in the city was 367 days ago.

Chris Havens • 612-673-4148