A California woman died early Christmas morning after the home where she was staying erupted in flames due to a short-circuit from the lights on the family’s Christmas tree.
Destiny Abdrazack, 22, was celebrating Christmas with her fiancé’s family outside Sacramento when tragedy struck. The family went to sleep with Christmas lights on when a short-circuit from the lights on the tree sparked a fire that quickly spread, according to KCRA News.
“We had an instant, seconds to get out,” Ernest Isom, Abdrazack’s intended father-in-law told the outlet.”It was fast, and that’s how quick it went. I’m talking minutes.”
California woman dies in house fire sparked by artificial Christmas tree https://t.co/EbJHRQZx1A pic.twitter.com/sObj6KLCW7
— New York Post (@nypost) December 27, 2022
Neighbor Richard Byers attempted to help the family after waking up to a loud sound. “You could see the flickering light on the tree and that’s kind of like the telltale sign of a fire,” he told the outlet.
Richard’s wife, Brandy Byers, reportedly ran down the street to find the Isom’s standing outside their burning home, distraught. “They were screaming, ‘Destiny! There’s someone inside! There’s someone inside!’ There’s nothing any of us could do,” she told KCRA.
Her husband tried to quell the flames with a fire extinguisher as another neighbor attempted to put it out with a garden hose, but it was no use, according to the outlet. “It was too intense, moving too fast,” Byers reportedly said. “It’s a miracle people got out at all the way it was moving. It was intense.”
The Sacramento Metro Fire Department recovered Abdrazack from the living room but her injuries were too severe. Two dogs also perished in the fire, the outlet reported. (RELATED: Staten Island House Fire Kills At Least Two Children)
The Isom’s home did not have working smoke detectors, prompting the fire department to encourage residents to regularly check their batteries and make sure they are working to avoid a similar tragedy, according to KCRA.
“Unfortunately, she was the one who yelled fire, and that’s the sad part. She saved our lives,” Isom told the outlet.