Elderly SC man dead after attempting to light heater, catching fire

A Lowcountry man died after he attempted to light a heater at his home, officials said.

Wesley Henry Privette, 75, was lighting a propane heater around 10:15 a.m. Thursday on the back porch of his Moncks Corner home when his clothing caught fire, according to a news release from Berkeley County Chief Deputy Coroner George Oliver.

Privette’s wife then attempted to extinguish the fire by covering him with a blanket, the release stated.

The blanket them also caught fire.

Privette was flown to Doctors Hospital’s burn unit in Augusta, Ga., where he was pronounced dead at 1:57 p.m. Thursday, according to the release.

Oliver said the cause of death was cardiac arrest due to thermal burns on the body.

Oliver rule the death as accidental.

This story was originally published December 23, 2016 at 10:32 AM.