Man living in shed died with dog in fire, SC coroner says

State agents are investigating a shed fire that killed a man and a dog in the Upstate earlier this week, according to the coroner’s office.

The deadly fire happened around 8:30 a.m. Wednesday on Dacusville Highway in Easley, according to a release from Pickens County Coroner Kandy Kelley.

The victim, 61-year-old Rickey Johnson, had been living in the shed that caught fire, Kelley said. He was pronounced dead at the scene and died from smoke inhalation and thermal burns.

A dog that was living in the shed also died, Kelley said.

A woman survived the fire, the coroner said. That woman told deputies that the fire started near a propane heater, according to Fox Carolina.

Johnson was the woman’s boyfriend, according to WYFF. She told investigators that they escaped the burning building, but Johnson went back in to retrieve some items and never made it out.

The fire is under investigation by the Pickens County Sheriff’s Office and the State Law Enforcement Division, according to the coroner’s office.