Close up of electric radiator in living room

Elderly couple found dead at home as radiator hits 1,000 degrees after cold snap

Joan Littlejohn and Glennwood Fowler were found dead at their home on Saturday, January 6.

by · Daily Record

An elderly couple were both found dead inside their home after their radiator's temperature reached quadruple figures.

Joan Littlejohn, 84, and Glennwood Fowler, 82, were found dead at their home in Spartanburg, South Carolina, shortly after 6pm on Saturday, January 6. Cops described the scene as "extremely hot" and said that there were no signs of a struggle or foul play were found.

The pair were discovered by police and medics following concerns by their family members, who had not seen the pair since Wednesday, the Mirror reported. County Coroner Rusty Clevenger said: "We did not note foul play to the bodies on the scene, but are concerned with why the temperature was so high."

Mr Glennwood was found lying facing upward on the bed naked while Joan was in a chair at the side of the bed, reports The Messenger . No signs of carbon monoxide poisoning were found by the fire department and medics also measured their body temperatures with a device that goes up to a maximum of 106 degree but both of them were higher than that reading.

Family had visited the home on Wednesday to assist their parents, who each had mobility issues, with the heater and said that the gas and hot water heaters were both out.

They added that the property was becoming too cold so they had "fiddled" with a wire until the pilot light came on and then left.

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Fire officials said that the interior temperature inside the house still exceeded 120 degrees after it was open to cold weather for around 20 minutes. One firefighter added: "The heater was so hot it looked as if the basement was currently on fire."

Officials deactivated the heater once they realised it was not on fire and the police reported stated: "They then measured the temperature of the heater itself at more than 1,000 degrees."

The outside doors of the home were subsequently left open in an attempt to remove of the strong odor of natural gas and the thermometer began again before officials left the scene.

While the responding officer said: "Upon looking at it, I stated the residence was at 96 degrees. It read this temperature after the house had been open for around two and a half hours."

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