Columbus man dies after recliner catches fire, coroner says

A 74-year-old Columbus man died in his recliner when it caught fire overnight.

Coroner Buddy Bryan said John Radney had been sitting in the chair under an electric blanket and a fleece blanket, with a space heater nearby.

Radney’s wife was in the rear of the house at 1409 Sheba Court when she heard noise and discovered the furnishings ablaze, Bryan said.

The fire spread to a tarp she had on a car outside, he said, but she escaped unharmed.

Radney was pronounced dead at 1:20 a.m. Saturday. His body will be sent to the state crime lab in Atlanta for an autopsy to pinpoint his cause of death, the coroner said.

Sheba Court is in north Columbus, off Double Churches Road just east of Whitesville Road.

This story was originally published March 24, 2019 at 10:49 AM.