A 55-year-old man died in a mobile home fire early Wednesday in Paulding County when he fell asleep in a recliner too close to an electric space heater, results of a state investigation revealed.

Glenn Allen, spokesman for the office of Georgia Insurance and Fire Commissioner Ralph Hudgens, said investigators determined the fire that killed Steve Brackett was accidental.

Paulding County Fire and Rescue officials found out about the fire when they were called about a brush fire in Dallas at about 2:35 a.m.

Instead, workers who responded to the call found a single-wide mobile home in the 100 block of Chester Harris Drive engulfed in flames. They found the elderly man’s body in the recliner inside the home.

Hudgens said in a news release there was no evidence of a working smoke alarm in the home, located about 34 miles northwest of Atlanta.

Brackett’s body was transported to the state crime lab in Atlanta for an autopsy.

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Julian Conley listens during opening statements in his trial at Fulton County Superior Court in Atlanta on Wednesday, Sept. 17, 2025. The 25-year-old is accused of fatally shooting 8-year-old Secoriea Turner in July 2020. (Abbey Cutrer/AJC)

Credit: abbey.cutrer@ajc.com