PLANTATION, FLA. (WSVN) - Authorities are investigating a fatal residential fire in a Plantation neighborhood that claimed a local doctor’s life.
The fire was sparked in the wee hours of Thursday morning along the 12300 block of Northwest 23rd Court, just east of Sawgrass Mills Mall.
Several engines responded to the Plantation Acres home before daybreak and extinguished flames in the kitchen area.
Inside the residence, first responders said, they located a woman.
The woman was identified by family as Dr. Karen Elizabeth Ruthman, a family practice physician in Weston.
She was treated by paramedics at the scene, then taken to the hospital, where she later died.
Aerial view of the massive home showed smoke damage to the front and back doors.
It appears most of the damage was contained to the inside of the home, as there weren’t any visible stains or dark soot on the exterior of the home, and the roof is still intact.
Noel True said he has known Ruthman and her family for a decade. He has done work in their home and described the victim as a kind person.
“She’s an easygoing, giving person. It’s kind of shocking. I don’t believe it yet that she really died,” said True.
He arrived Thursday morning to the shocking scene.
“I’m just coming to go to the house to work on the fountain, and then I see this car. I thought it was next door, so I was calling him to tell him, ‘Hey, there’s a crime scene in your neighborhood,’ then I found out that it was his house,” said True.
True said Ruthman’s husband is an OB-GYN doctor. He wasn’t home at the time of the fire.
“They’re pretty much a happy couple, as far as I know. I’ve known them for over probably 10 years or more. I know their son,” he said. “It’s kind of a shock right now, because as I said, I came to work right now at this house, and I called him, and I get him.”
Ruthman’s Weston office employees told 7News they are distraught and in total shock.
FPL crews arrived on the scene to shut the power off to ensure fire marshals could safely conduct their investigation.
The cause of the fire is still to be determined.
Police have shut down the roads in the area as they continue their investigation.
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