A woman in California perished in a tragic house fire caused by an artificial Christmas tree on Christmas morning.
Destiny Abdrazack, age 22, was spending Christmas Eve with her fiancé’s family at their North Highlands home around 2:00 a.m. Sunday when an electrical short from the tree sparked a raging blaze, according to NBC affiliate KCRA3.
According to Ernest Isom, the father of her fiancé, Abdrazack screamed that there were fires, arousing the five people in the house, which lacked functional smoke detectors.
“She was the one who yelled fire, and that’s the sad part,” Isom said of his future daughter-in-law to KCRA3. She save our lives.
Firefighters rescued Abdrazack from the burning structure, but he subsequently died at a local hospital.
Isom, his wife and son, as well as two other adults, all survived the fire.
Isom said that the family had fallen asleep without turning off the lights on the Christmas tree.
“Unfortunately, they intended to keep the lights on until the very last second, and we all fell asleep, so we had only seconds to escape,” he told the broadcaster. “It was swift, and it moved at that rate. I’m talking minutes.”
The fire also claimed the lives of two household pets, and the home was destroyed.
According to neighbors who spoke to the local TV station, they awoke to a loud noise and, upon looking out the window, saw flames flying from the residence.
Richard Byers stated, “You could see the flickering light on the tree, which is a telltale sign of a fire.”
He went outside and grabbed a fire extinguisher, while a neighbor used a garden shed to unsuccessfully attempt to extinguish the blaze.
Byers stated, “The flames rekindled immediately.” It was too intense and moved too quickly.
His wife, Brandy Byers, stated that when they exited their home three doors down, they spotted Isom’s family outside yelling for assistance.
“They were yelling ‘Destiny!’” There is a person inside! There is a person inside!” Brandy Byers reported to KCRA3 There was nothing that any of us could have done.
Abdrazack was rescued by firefighters from the home’s living room and sent to a nearby hospital in critical condition.
The following day, her family acknowledged her passing and created a GoFundMe page to fund her hospital and burial expenses.
»California woman is killed in a house fire caused by an artificial Christmas tree«