A 22-year-old California woman died in a voracious house fire started by an artificial Christmas tree – after rescuing five other sleeping family members from the home with no working smoke detectors.
Destiny Abdrazack, 22, was at her fiancé’s childhood home in the North Highlands, Sacramento, when an electrical short ignited out of the tree around 2 a.m. on Christmas morning.
Abdrazack alerted the five other people sleeping in the house – her fiancé, her future in-laws Ernest Isom and his wife and two other adults – by shouting “fire” and they managed to escape.
But Abrazack and the family’s two dogs weren’t so lucky. The house was completely destroyed and the Isom family lost everything.
Brandy Byers, one of the neighbors, told KCRA3 that the distraught family members screamed, “Destiny! There’s someone inside! There’s someone inside!” she recalled. “There’s nothing either of us can do.”
A photo of Destiny Abdrazack, 22, who died in the Christmas Day fire. A friend described her as a “beautiful soul”
A photo of the catastrophic fire that engulfed a home on David Drive in North Highlands, Sacramento and started when an artificial Christmas tree was ignited by an electrical short
Destiny Abdrazack, 22, died in the house fire that started from an artificial tree in the early hours of Sunday morning on Christmas Day
Firefighters found Abdrazack in the living room of the home. She was taken to a nearby hospital in critical condition, where she later died, the New York Post reported.
Speaking to KCRA3, Isom said he and his family only had “seconds to get out” before his home was engulfed in flames.
“She was the one screaming fire and that’s the sad part,” Isom said of his future daughter-in-law. “She saved our lives.”
“Unfortunately they wanted to leave the lights on until the last minute and we all just happened to fall asleep and had a moment, seconds, to get out.
“It was fast and it went that fast. I’m talking minutes.”
Neighbors were woken up by a loud noise and when they looked out the window they saw the house engulfed in flames.
Neighbor Richard Byers used a fire extinguisher to put it out but he said the fire was “moving too fast”.
On Monday, Gabriella Zaccaria, a friend of the deceased, started a GoFundMe to raise money for funeral expenses.
“Destiny is one of the most beautiful souls that have crossed our paths.
“She is no longer on earth, but she will always be with us,” said Zaccaria. “Any donation at this point helps.”
As of Tuesday morning, nearly $3,100 had been raised to reach their $100,000 goal.
It’s not clear why the smoke detectors in the home weren’t working, but the Sacramento Metro Fire Department is urging homeowners to check batteries.
Next month they are launching a smoke alarm campaign to help families install fire alarms in their homes.
The Sacramento Metro Fire Department is working to put out the house fire that started on Christmas Day and was started by an artificial Christmas tree. Neighbors rushed to the family’s aid. One of the neighbors grabbed a fire extinguisher and another a garden shed, but the fire was moving too fast
The family’s two dogs were also killed in the Christmas Day fire. The house was completely destroyed and the Isom family lost everything
A picture of the home on Donna Drive in the North Highlands suburb of Sacramento that was devastated by the fire. Speaking to KCRA3, Ernest Isom said he and his family only had “seconds to get out”. Isom said his future daughter-in-law who died saved her life.