A Lee County school board member died after a house fire early Wednesday morning in Sanford.

Emergency crews were called around 2:35 a.m. to the 1300 block of Summerset Place after a fire was reported at a home in the neighborhood. Firefighters worked to put out the flames and later found a man dead inside the residence.

The Sanford Police Department identified the victim as Marcus Phillip Mason, 59, who lived at the home.

Mason was serving on the Lee County Board of Education after being appointed by the Lee County Republican Party earlier this year to fill the remainder of a vacant term. According to The Rant, Mason had also filed to run for the seat in the 2026 election.

Investigators with the Sanford Police Department and Sanford Fire Department are continuing to investigate what caused the fire.

No additional information has been released.