Man found dead at scene of house fire near Edgewater

                                                                             NSBNEWS.net video above by Sera King and photos below by Henry Frederick. An elderly man prished early this morning in a house fire that also claimed his dog on Cory Drive in Edgewater.

 

EDGEWATER -- The body of a man belived to be in his early 60s was found inside the back of a home just south of Edgewater that caught fire this morning, said Volusia County Sheriff's spokesman Gary Davidson.

Fire and law enforcement officials are on the scene investigating the blaze at 118 S. Cory Drive. The fire was called in by a neighbor at 7:49 a.m. Edgewater Fire Department units were first to arrive at the scene.

Units from Volusia County Fire Services and the New Smyrna Beach Fire Department arrived moments later, and all three agencies worked to douse the flames.

A concrete addition on the rear of the house was fully involved when fire units arrived.

"Firefighters immediately entered through the front of the house to help fight the fire and work their way towards the back of the single-story structure," Davidson said. "After the fire was extinguished, a search crew was able to make its way to the rear of the house, where the man's body was found. The victim's identity hasn't been confirmed yet, but he's believed to be about 61-years-old. A pet dog was also found dead inside the home."

The cause of the fire is being investigated by Volusia County Fire Services and the State Fire Marshal's Office. The Sheriff's Office and the Volusia County Medical Examiner's Office will investigate to determine the cause of the man's death, Davidson said.

Neighbors said they were awakened by popping sounds and when they looked out their windows they saw flames shoooting out, along with thick, billowing smoke that made any possible attempt at getting inside the burning home impossible. Several immediately called 9-1-1.
"I was one of them," said Richard Gromotka, who lives across the street from the victim in the 80-home subdivision just south of Roberts Road on the east side of U.S. 1.
Gromotka, like other neighbors, said they were not sure if the fire was due to an electrical problem that may have resulted from the homeowner using a space heater to keep warm with overnight wind-chill temperatures in the 20s or perhaps because he was a heavy smoker.
"He smoked like a chimney," the 69-year-old Gromotka said, adding the victim had been in failing health recently, including a trip by ambulance to Bert Fish Medical Center for his esoughagus.
"He was our neighbor for about six years and he lived alone with his dog - a golden retriever -- he lived for that dog," Gromotka said, adding he wasn't aware of any relatives living nearby or visiting. "He had a boat and he and that dog were buddies."
Gromotka's wife, Barbara, said the man also loved xotic fish and had an aquarium. The fish perished as well, she said.
"It's very upsetting because we knew him," she said. "If it's someone around the corner you don't know then it's a different story, but he was such a nce man."
Barbara Gromotka said there hasn't been this much of a shocker in the quiet old-style Florida neighborhood for nearly a decade.
"Not since a little boy was run over by a car and killed ovoer on Hazel, one street over," she said somberly.