A Columbus man killed by a February house fire died from smoke inhalation and burns to more than 60% of his body, according to an autopsy from the Franklin County Coroner’s Office.
Thomas Lewis, 71, was killed in the house fire, which happened just after 5 a.m. Feb. 27 in the 4500 block of Gallery Street on Columbus’ Northeast Side, according to the coroner’s report. At the time of the fire, Lewis and a second person were at the home, located just off the east side of I-270, and both were hospitalized.
Lewis was transported to Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead just before 9 p.m., according to the autopsy report.
The report states that Smith died from smoke inhalation and thermal burn injuries to his body. According to the report, Lewis had partial and full thickness burns to around 65% of his body. His death was ruled an accident, the coroner’s report released March 23 stated.
Additional information, including how the fire started and whether the second person injured in the fire is still recovering, was not immediately available.
Meanwhile, neither the Columbus Division of Fire nor the Franklin County Coroner’s office had as of March 23 identified the three people who died as a result of a March 20 fire that gutted a first-floor apartment at the rear of Broadmeadows Plaza Apartments at 200 Broad Meadows Boulevard off North High Street in the Sharon Heights neighborhood of Columbus’ North Side. The cause of the fire also had not been released and was still under investigation.
The American Red Cross was providing shelter and/or other services to 40 people displaced from the fire at the three-story, 39-unit apartment building that gutted the first floor apartment and spread smoke throughout the building. A total of 11 people were transported to hospitals, including the three who died, two who were last reported in critical condition, and six others.
Reporter Shahid Meighan can be reached at smeighan@dispatch.com, at ShahidMeighan on X, and at shahidthereporter.dispatch.com on Bluesky.
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: 71-year-old man killed by Columbus house fire near Easton identified
Reporting by Shahid Meighan, Columbus Dispatch / The Columbus Dispatch
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