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DAYTONA BEACH -- The woman found dead Wednesday n the charred home destroyed by fire in the Daytona Highridge Estates subdivision just west of Daytona Beach has been identified as the homeowner, 54-year-old Lynda J. Thomas, a Volusia County Sheriff's spokesman said.
"Pursuant to an autopsy conducted today by the Volusia County Medical Examiner’s Office, the death has been preliminarily ruled as accidental, due to smoke inhalation," Sheriff's spokesman Gary Davidson said. "The final ruling on the death is pending the results of toxicology tests."
The noon-time fire at 1461 was initially reported through 9-1-1 calls by neighbors who spotted smoke coming from the windows of the home and then flames, which were attacked for 19 minutes before firefighters entered and found the body.
Thomas was pronounced dead on the scene at 12:24 p.m.
The cause of the fire is under investigation by the State Fire Marshal's Office.