Florida woman seeks help to rebuild life after losing husband, brother-in-law, home in fire

Florida woman loses husband, home in tragic fire

A Holly Hill woman not only lost her husband of 50 years and brother-in-law in a fire but also her livelihood. Just before Christmas Eve, a fire broke out in Deborah Blessing-Ortiz’s Holly Hill home. Her husband, Cesar, was sleeping in the back room and died in the blaze.

HOLLY HILL, Fla. - A Holly Hill woman not only lost her husband of 50 years and brother-in-law in a fire but also her livelihood.

Just before Christmas Eve, a fire broke out in Deborah Blessing-Ortiz’s Holly Hill home. Her husband, Cesar, was sleeping in the back room and died in the blaze.

"He was in the bedroom, and that's where they found his body in the bed," said Deborah. "They said he was burnt — 80% of his body was burned," she continued with a heavy heart.

Two brave neighbors were able to pull Deborah and her brother-in-law out of the home as it went up in flames. However, she says, her brother-in-law succumbed to his injuries days later. Neighbors tried to save Cesar too, but couldn’t.

"Just to think of him yelling for help, and no one can help him. That hurts me," said Deborah.

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The home is a total loss as the flames destroyed everything inside, which left this elderly woman with not only a broken heart, but nowhere to go.

"I thank God for his mercy. He's given me a second chance. Now I got to find out what to do with it," said Deborah.

The 69-year-old woman is staying in a motel room now, as she has nowhere else to go. She’s been living on social security and now has to start from scratch, even needing a new ID and birth certificate.

The family has now set up a GoFunMe donation page here if you’d like to help Deborah get back on her feet.

She’s hoping the love of her life can help guide her through this pain.

"I know he is looking down on me," said Deborah. "He wants me to continue on, but he's just going to have to tell me how."

Officials say the Fire Marshal is still investigating the cause of the fire.

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