A small fire in a Bloomington house proved fatal for a 73-year-old resident, authorities said Monday.

Daniel D. Hager suffered severe burns in the fire late in the afternoon on Sept. 5 and died hours later at Hennepin County Medical Center, according to Fire Chief Ulie Seal.

Hager and a brother were in the house in the 9800 block of 1st Avenue S., when the fire started either in Hager's bedroom or in the nearby hall, Seal said. Damage to the home was considered minor, the chief said.

Seal said the fire was "accidental in origin," but could not say with certainty how it started.

The brother, Spencer Hager, 75, had minor hand burns, Seal said.

Paul Walsh