A 46-year-old Northside woman died when she was trapped in her burning home overnight.
Firefighters were called to the home on Doeboy Street, just off Lem Turner, just after 3 a.m.
"When I came, it was just flames shooting up in the sky; everything was burning," neighbor Carmon Williams said. "The fire patrol was here. They came pretty quick, but it was engulfed in flames, real bad."
Burglar bars on all the windows and the living room by the front door prevented Judy Lynn Hysmith from getting out.
"To give you an indication of how hot it was, the firefighters did not even have to perform any kind of forced entry, as the hinges of the front door had already melted off by the time we arrived at the scene," said Jacksonville Fire-Rescue spokesman Tom Frances.
Neighbors say Hysmith lived in the lived in the home with her sister. Her sister was not home at the time, having been hospitalized for a medical issue prior to the fire.
Fire investigators said as many as six portable kerosene heaters were found in the house and are suspected of causing the fire.
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