ANDERSON, S.C. (AP) -- A week after the film ``Radio'' premiered around the nation, the man whose life inspired the film awoke to find his room engulfed in flames.
The early Saturday morning fire destroyed James Robert ``Radio'' Kennedy's room, but caused only minor damage to the rest of the house he shares with his family, said Anderson fire Battalion Chief Dale Horne.
The fire began in Kennedy's room. Horne said it probably was caused by an electrical failure. Fire Chief Jack Abraham told The (Anderson) Independent Mail that investigators would look into work an electrician did last week on a breaker box in the room.
Shortly after the fire began, Kennedy awoke, saw the flames and woke his brother and roommate George ``Cool Rock'' Kennedy. They woke their brother Walter and his wife, and all four residents escaped the home without injury, Horne said.
Horne said the family had a place to stay while their home is repaired.
James Kennedy, 56, who is mentally disabled, became an inspiration first for the local football team at T.L. Hanna High School and then the community at large.
The film, which stars Cuba Gooding Jr., explores Kennedy's longtime relationship with former T.L. Hanna head coach Harold Jones.
