Woman found dead in Deltona Christmas house fire was 'hoarder,' neighbors say
Woman found dead in Deltona Christmas house fire was 'hoarder,' neighbors say
A woman believed to be in her 80s was found dead after a house fire Christmas night in Deltona, according to deputies. People living near the home that burned down described the woman who lived there as nice, but a hoarder. Many told FOX 35 News the City of Deltona and the Fire Marshal had both been out to the house multiple times before, trying to clear out some of the clutter even as recently as a few months before the fire.
DELTONA, Fla. - According to deputies, a woman was found dead after a house fire broke out on Christmas night in Deltona. The Volusia Sheriff's Office said the incident happened shortly after 9 p.m. at a home on Gregory Drive.
The woman's body was found once firefighters were able to put out the flames. The victim was later identified as 81-year-old Carol Billings and investigators said she lived alone at the residence.
People living near the home that burned down described Billings as a nice woman who was also a "hoarder." Many told FOX 35 News the City of Deltona and the Fire Marshal had both been out to the house multiple times before, trying to clear out some of the clutter even as recently as a few months before the fire.
Crews filled up several gigantic dumpsters with different items Billings had saved inside the house and in around the yard. Even that barely cleared a pathway to the door from inside, neighbors told FOX 35. They had been concerned that the piles of material were posing a fire hazard.
The night of the fire, neighbors said the homeowner was going around asking people for an extension cord to use with her space heater.
Neighbors said Billings spent Christmas evening going around asking people for an extension cord to use with her space heater. Multiple people told FOX 35 that the home did not have a functioning central heating system, and they did not think it was safe to operate a space heater in an area so cluttered.
Battalion Chief Scott Smoak with Volusia County Fire Rescue said firefighters advise against using extension cables for space heaters.
"A lot of times, extension cords are not rated for the amount of electricity that’s being generated. Therefore, the extension cords what up, they start to melt, and they malfunction, and then that causes an electric short which causes fires," he explained.
Smoak said you should call 911 if you see or smell smoke or suspect you could be at risk for a fire.
"We have the tools and equipment to come and check things. We’ll help check AC units. We can look inside walls with our thermal imaging cameras to look for hidden fires that we call inside ceilings or walls, and we can look for those things without having to actually tear a wall open."
Neighbors told FOX 35 Billings has a daughter who lives out of state. Some neighbors tried to help her out, bringing her food or offering assistance wherever she needed it.
Multiple neighbors told FOX 35 the incident was tragic, but predictable given the state of the home.
The official cause of the fire is under investigation.