Originally posted Sun, 2009-08-09 10:53

NSBNEWS.net photos by Henry Frederick. Robert Schaedel, 68, of 2864 Red Oak Circle in the Redlands retirement mobile home community, off U.S. in New Smyrna Beach, was killed Saturday when his residence caught fire.

NEW SMYRNA BEACH -- A 68-year-old resident of the Redlands senior mobile-home park off U.S. 1, died Saturday in a blaze that fully engulfed his residence, officials said. Robert Schaedel died in the 3:11 p.m. fire, but his wife, Mildred, who escaped the flames after trying to fight the fire, was treated at the scene for minor unspecified injuries.

Responding firefighters found the mobile home fully engulfed with a report of an occupant trapped inside.

Firefighters were unable to rescue the victim, whose body was found when the flames were knocked down, said Randy Wright, division fire chief for New Smyrna Beach. It took firefighters 20 minutes to get the fire under control, with extreme heat emanating from it that peeled off the exterior to the side of a nearby mobile home. The fire was extinguished at 4:15 p.m. by New Smyrna Beach firefighters with assistance from fire departmens in Edgewater, Port Orange and Volusia County.

With 40 firefighters in all, the flames were kept from other nearby homes as police evacuated people there. The cause of the fire has not been determined, though after an initial investigation, it was deemed accidental, most likely from cigarette smoking by the deceased, Wright said. An investigation is ongoing by the New Smyrna Beach Fire Department and the State Fire Marshal's Office.

EARLIER FATAL FIRE:

Man found dead at scene of house fire near Edgewater

By Henry Frederick

                                                                             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 exotic 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.

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Edgewater fire victim identified

Posted Fri, 2009-02-06 16:05

By HENRY FREDERICK

EDGEWATER -- The man found dead inside a Cory Drive home home just south of Edgewater that caught fire Thursday has been identified as 61-year-old Michael McCool, Volusia County Sheriff's spokesman Brandon Haught reporte this afternoon.

The Volusia County Medical Examiner's Office confirmed the identity during an autopsy this morning. The Medical Examiner has also preliminarily ruled that McCool died of smoke inhalation, but a final determination will not be made until toxicology tests are completed.

State Fire Marshal Detective Kyle Barron said the cause of the fire was ruled "accidental electrical" and did not involve a space heater.

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Elderly NSB woman rescued from burning home by firefighters

Originally posted Mon, 2009-12-21 18:59

By HENRY FREDERICK

NEW SMYRNA BEACH — A 79-year-old woman overcome by smoke from flames inside her home in the Century Woods subdivision early this morning was being treated at Bert Fish Medical Center where her condition was said to be much improved, a fire department official said later in the day.

A dog perished in the 6:13 a.m. fire that caused extensive damage inside the front of the home in a cul-de-sac at 515 Curlew Ave, which is a short distance from Enterprise Road in the western side of the city.

Even though the house looks fine on the outside, the fire was nasty inside and took 30 minutes to extinguish, New Smyrna Beach Fire Department spokesman Randy Wright said.

Firefighters did not release the woman's name, but neighbors identified her as "Sue." The home is owned by Sue Cushing, according to Volusia County Appraiser's Office.

The woman was unconscious when firefighters arrived and after safely getting her out, managed to save a second dog, which was being cared for by a neighbor. A neighbor said the woman was smoking in her living room at the time, which may have sparked the blaze, but Wright said he couldn't confirm that.

The state Fire Marshall's Office is investigating.