ST. JOHNS COUNTY, Fla. — A large charred spot and some debris is all that’s left behind after a portable caught fire in St. Augustine.
The St. John County Sheriff's Office says the woman who died in it was badly burned and lived with her family less than a two-minute walk away from here.
Sheriff's spokesman Chuck Mulligan says Denise Mcquaig may have lit a cigarette inside a port-a-potty sparking the blaze.
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“Why would it explode? I don’t know,” explained James.
Tonight, that is still being investigated.
“My first thought is I don’t think there are many women that would go to a port-a-potty,” said Debbie James.
Debbie and her husband James have lived on Horseshoe Road for many years.
Their house sits across from where Mcquaig lives.
“Once in a while she would be out with her dog but not very often,” said Debbie James.
The investigation began after a neighbor called 911 to report a fire to a porta-potty next to a home construction site on Saturday.
“Everybody heard a bang,” James said.
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Once firefighters extinguished the fire, they discovered Mcquaig’s body inside of it
“It’s not something a woman would do so that is a mystery,” added Debbie.
Mulligan says they don’t expect foul play but detectives are looking into all possibilities of how this may have happened while they wait for toxicology reports to come back.
Cox Media Group
