Fire destroys Orange County home

ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. (FOX 35 Orlando) - A Wednesday afternoon fire gutted a home and destroyed all of a woman’s possessions.

Orange County Fire Rescue says crews responded to a converted garage near Orlovista just before 4:00 p.m.

“The initial reports were that she might have been inside so our firefighters went right in. They began a search, began knocking down the fire,” said OCFR Public Information Officer Mike Jachles.

Thankfully – that woman was not inside. But she came home to find the destruction.

Fire officials say she told them she had portable heaters inside, but that she turned them off before leaving. She also said that she was using a number of extension cords.

“Obviously, one of the first things investigators will look at are those extension cords and what was plugged into them – what was draining any current – to see what could be a source of ignition for the fire,” Jachles said.

State fire officials are investigating.