Smoking while on oxygen caught a recliner on fire and killed a Wichita man

A man died after he accidentally started a fire when smoking while on oxygen at his north Wichita apartment, fire investigators said.

Charles E. Wilson, 72, was found near the front door to his apartment after a fire started in his recliner, Lt. Jose Ocadiz said.

The fire was reported at 6:15 p.m. Friday in the 3100 block of North Woodland, near 29th North and Arkansas. The man lived in a detached garage that had been converted into a one-room apartment. It was filled with smoke when firefighters arrived.

Wilson was taken outside, but rescuers could not revive him.

There was $1,000 of damage to the building and $2,000 to the contents, Ocadiz said.

This is the third Wichita fire fatality of 2018. There were six in 2017.

This story was originally published February 12, 2018 at 11:33 AM with the headline "Smoking while on oxygen caught a recliner on fire and killed a Wichita man."