Deputies confirm 1 dead in Charlotte County house fire

Reporter: Camila Pereira Writer: Nicholas Karsen
Published: Updated:

A fire at a Charlotte County home killed one person and completely burnt down the home and an RV.

Several fire departments and the Charlotte County Sheriff’s Office responded to the fire that happened just before 1 a.m. on Thursday.

Smoke from the fire filled the neighborhood, which is outside the Punta Gorda city limits on Hickory Avenue, near Taylor Road, off Airport Road.

Neighbors said they heard an explosion in the early morning.

“My son said that he heard a boom, and then on our way to wake them up, I heard another boom, so I was scared a little, but then I went on the other side in front of their house,” said Olive Caudill, a neighbor.

Truman Caudill added, “It shook all the neighbor’s houses. I mean, it was a big one. The flames were sky-high.”

Regarding that boom they’re talking about, every neighbor we talked to told us the same thing.

Even one man who drove by to see the damage said he heard it all the way from Coral Ridge Drive.

For some perspective, that’s about a four-minute drive from the neighborhood, across Taylor Road.

The scene has since been cleared; however, the state and city fire marshals will investigate the cause of the fire.

At 7 a.m. on Thursday, CCSO confirmed the single death; however, it has yet to be determined if the person was killed before, during or after the fire broke out.

WINK News will continue investigating the scene and provide new information whenever available.

Copyright ©2025 Fort Myers Broadcasting. All rights reserved.

This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed without prior written consent.