Man dies after running back into burning DeBary home

DeBARY, Fla. – A man was critically injured and later died early Monday in a house fire in DeBary, officials said.

The blaze broke out around 2 a.m. on Lake Drive.

According to fire officials, a woman and her grandson were in the house when the fire started in the garage. The woman told Volusia County deputies she smelled something burning and went to the garage where she found her grandson and a cloud of smoke.

“About 50 percent of the house itself was involved," Lt. Chris Kane, Orange City Fire Department said. “It was very thick inside. The fire was already above our heads as well. It was already in the attic.”

Deputies say the grandmother and her grandson managed to make it out of the house. The woman ran to a neighbor’s home to call for help.

Neighbor Lynn Greaney said she went to help the two when she saw the blaze. Greaney said she saw the woman’s grandson go back in the house.

“She came out and then he went back in the house. We don’t know why he went back in the house, but he did," Greaney said. “I just saw them take him out on a stretcher, so I knew that they had gotten him, which I was glad to see.”

Firefighters said the man ran back into the home after his grandmother had gotten out and that it’s unclear why he entered it again. They were able to pull him out of the burning home.

The grandson, identified as 27-year-old Jaime Garret, was taken to an Orlando hospital in critical condition before he died, officials said. Garret had a history of mental illness, according to the Sheriff’s Office.

Fire officials said the house was destroyed in the blaze.

“It’s a shame to see something like that happen because this lady’s life is pretty much ruined," Greaney said. “You hate to see something like this happen.”

The cause of the fire is under investigation.

No other details have been released.