MONSON – It is likely that a recliner that was too close to a wood stove was the cause of a fire Friday night that reportedly killed a Monson man and two dogs.

Leroy Nightingale Jr., 64, died in a backroom on the second story of his home. He apparently was attempting to flee the fire.

Investigator Scott Richardson of the State Fire Marshal’s Office said Sunday his department could not rule out that a recliner was too close to the wood stove and that may have been the fire’s origin.