A manufactured home fire on Merritt Island that left one person dead is still under investigation. Brevard County Fire Rescue personnel responded to the blaze in the 200 block of Banana River Drive on Thursday, March 6, 2025.
Officials have not identified the person who died, but neighbors said it was an 85-year-old woman who had lived in the community for about 20 years.
For several years, this elderly woman has lived in dangerous conditions, fueled by what appears to be an intent to capitalize on a broken system. Shortly after Hurricane Irma battered her manufactured home, it became quite evident that this was no longer a safe environment for her or her neighbors due to the condition of her home. After receiving multiple neighbor complaints as to her living conditions, several professional and licensed home inspection companies, such as A1 Inspection, AAA MH Movers, Inc., and BERYL Engineering were hired to help identify the risks to the community. Multiple code violations including electrical and structural issues were discovered with many being critical. In November of 2022, one of the many inspection reports stated “Substantial damage was found throughout the structure and additional conditions defined by local and state authorities to be declarable as dangerous and unsafe, we recommend that this property is condemned, demolished.” Another inspector stated several electrical code violations and hazards.
For over six long years, her attorney [Name Redacted] fought to keep her in this death trap as the funds in the court registry grew, the resistance to removing the elderly woman from this hazard persisted despite the obvious health risks to her and the surrounding community.
On Thursday, March 6th at approximately 4:30pm, this sweet elderly woman’s life came to a tragic end when her home burned as horrified residents watched in shock, her body found on a secondary search in hoarder like conditions, under a pile of rubble. This could have been avoided if only her attorney [Name Redacted] had put her health and safety first and heeded the warnings of the inspection reports and community eyewitnesses and statements. The presumed motivation can only be the substantial court registry payout from a broken system that allowed this case to be distracted and delayed for 6 years, resulting in her senseless death.
Patrick Ward
