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Family members say a well-known political figure died in a Scott County fire Tuesday evening.

The blaze broke out around 7:30 p.m. in a home on Lakeview Drive, just west of Georgetown. Officials say firefighters found a male victim in the back of the house. The coroner has not released the name of the victim.

Nick Houf says that man was his uncle, Charles Wells.

Wells served as Chairman of the Scott Co. Ethics Board and was active in the state Democratic Party, serving as an at-large member of the State Central Executive Committee. According to the SCEC website, "Wells chairs the Party's Finance Committee. Charles previously served two terms as Chairman of the Scott County Democratic Executive Committee and was the Democratic Party's nominee for State Senate in the 17th Senate District in 2003. Charles was born in Paintsville, Kentucky. He is a graduate of Georgetown College and has lived in Georgetown, Kentucky with his wife Sheila for almost 30 years."

"He's been in it. It's been something he's always loved and enjoyed. He's been in Frankfort pretty much his whole life. That's what his life lived around. But as far as an uncle to me, he's a wonderful man," Houf said.

Family members say they think a gas furnace in the back of the home likely started the fire.