Fire Demolishes Family Home in Western Flagler After French Fries Are Left Unattended

Around noon Saturday Caprice Williams, a 37-year-old resident of a residence on Logwood Lane in Flagler’s Mondex section, also known as Daytona North, was cooking french fries in her kitchen when she got a call from a friend who needed to borrow a few chairs. Williams then did what friends do: she loaded up the chairs on her vehicle and drove them to her friend’s house not far away.

But she left the fries on the stove.

She wasn’t gone but five minutes, she would later tell authorities, according to an incident report. But on her way back she noticed a Flagler County Sheriff’s patrol car pass her by. She thought nothing of it until she got back to her property.

The house, an 1,100-square-foot structure Clarence and Jennifer Williams bought in 1986, was engulfed in flames.

When the deputy Caprice Williams saw pass her by arrived at the fire, he saw a man walking in the backyard, made sure that the man man was out of harm’s way, then saw Williams drive up, upset. She first confirmed to the deputy that no one was oin the house, and that all three of her dogs were outside.

Deputies spoke with Williams’s husband, Stephan, 39, who confirmed that his two sons, 15 and 17, were out of the house. Stephan said he’d been in the backyard in the shed trying to clean it up when, walking out of the shed, he happened to look through the windows. He saw flames in the kitchen. He ran across the street to his neighbor’s house and asked her to call 911. He’d been aware that his wife had been cooking in the kitchen, and that she’d left briefly.

Several units of Flagler County Fire Rescue and the Bunnell Volunteer Fire Department responded to the scene, as did Florida Power and Light, which turned off power to the property. The Red Cross also reported to the scene to give the Williams family assistance. “There was no suspicious activity surrounding the incident or the cause of the fire,” the sheriff’s office reported.

It was the second house fire in the western portion of the county to demolish a family home in seven weeks. On Nov. 28, a fire that is still under state investigation–arson is suspected–demolished the home of Kevin Lee and Amy Clayton on Kentucky Avenue. Kevin was found in the house after the fire and was believed to have shot himself. He left three young children behind, two of whom were in the house when the fire started, and one of whom was recognized for his bravery by various agencies last month for taking his youngest brother to safety. At least one GoFundMe account for the family in the December fire by today had raised just over $7,000.

Saturday’s fire has so far drawn much less attention though it too left a family homeless.