Woman Dies in Early Morning Winter Park House Fire

By Orlando Personal Injury Attorney on February 8, 2018

Last Tuesday, firefighters in Winter Park responded to early morning reports of a fire blazing at a home located at 102 Bell Place, close to both Lakemont and Aloma avenues. When the Winter Park Fire-Rescue Department arrived at the scene, they were confronted by the terrifying sight of orange and red flames already bursting through the home’s roof.

The firefighting teams immediately began to battle the out-of-control blaze, and within four minutes, according to the report, the fire was fully extinguished.

The report from the Winter Park Fire-Rescue Department did not specify whether or not firefighters entered the residence before the flames were out, but it did make clear that one woman either escaped from the blaze on her own or was rescued by the attending firefighters. Unfortunately, there was another individual in the home at the time of the fire, and she was not able to be rescued by the fire-rescue team.

Early morning fires, and this one was initially reported to the authorities at close to 3:30 in the morning, are extremely deadly due to the fact that most people within a home are usually sleeping when the fire breaks out. This means that, A) they are unable to extinguish the flames themselves, before the fire gets out of control, and B) that the fire can easily surround them before they are able to wake up, trapping them behind walls of heat and smoke and making any rescue impossible.

The report did not state if the woman who died in the fire was in fact asleep, and it did not give any clues as to how the first woman was able to be rescued while the second was not.

We do know that initial investigative reports indicate that no unusual or suspicious activity seems to be connected to the fire, and that the death is therefore likely to be deemed accidental. The investigation is still underway, and we can expect additional updates as the detectives reach further conclusions.

The first report on this incident concluded with the information that this incident was the first time in 20 years that a Winter Park fire has resulted in a fatality.

James O. Cunningham

Since 1977, personal injury lawyer James Cunningham has provided effective legal advocacy to people who are injured through the negligent actions of another person or entity throughout the Central Florida area. He fights to obtain recoveries for his clients’ physical and emotional pain and suffering and pursues his clients’ personal injury cases with a commitment to excellence and impeccable preparation.