1 person dead after fire tears through travel trailer in Port Orange
PORT ORANGE, Fla. (FOX 35 ORLANDO) - The Florida Fire Marshal's Office is investigating after one person died in a small trailer fire in Port Orange.
Port Orange firefighters responded to Rose Bay Travel Park off Nova Road just before 11 p.m. Thursday.
Neighbor Robert Sell said his son woke him up and told him about the fire. He said he rushed over to try and help the disabled, elderly woman who lived inside.
Sell said he saw the woman on the floor inside the trailer yelling for help because she could not get out. He said he tried to pull her out but couldn't because the flames were too intense.
"She was talking to me. I was in the doorway there. I couldn't get in there far enough."
Sell said he tried to do everything he could until first responders arrived.
"I had a garden hose on her trying to cover her with water but by the time anybody got here it was way too late."
Neighbors reported hearing a loud explosion that shook their homes and knocked pictures off the walls. Port Orange Fire Chief Ken Fustin said the noise came from an oxygen tank that exploded just as firefighters arrived on scene.
Chief Fustin said it is too early to determine if the oxygen tank played a role in starting the fire but the Florida Fire Marshal's Office is investigating the cause of the fire. The medical examiner's office is working to identify the victim.