An elderly Florida woman was found dead inside her charred home late Sunday after a Christmas night fire.
Firefighters put down the flames and recovered the body of 81-year-old Carol Billings from inside the home.
Neighbors revealed that while the decedent was nice to them, they had always been concerned about her and their safety due to her being a hoarder.
City officials have visited Billings’ house several times filling dumpsters with items from in and around the residence.
But neighbors said that despite their efforts, there was practically no clear path leading from inside the home to the door.
Hours before the tragedy, Billings was looking for an extension cord to connect her space heater which may have triggered the blaze.
“A lot of times, extension cords are not rated for the amount of electricity that’s being generated,” said Volusia County Fire Rescue Battalion Chief Scott Smoak.
“They start to melt, and they malfunction, and then that causes an electric short, which causes fires.”
