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Woman, 2 Dogs Die In Blaze At Land O'Lakes House

News Channel 8 photo by DAVID KRAUT

Officials say it appears that the fire that killed Barbara Andersen of 22620 Hawk Hill Loop was accidental.

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By GEOFF FOX

gfox@tampatrib.com

Published: April 1, 2009

LAND O' LAKES - A 71-year-old woman and two dogs died in a house fire Wednesday in the Valencia Gardens community on Collier Parkway.

Barbara Andersen of 22620 Hawk Hill Loop was killed in the blaze, which appears to have been accidental, the Pasco County Sheriff's Office said. One cat, one bird and a third dog survived the fire.

Neighbor Micah King, an off-duty Hillsborough County firefighter, called 911 at 9:24 a.m. after he heard smoke alarms inside the house at Hawk Hill and Billingham Drive. The subdivision is north of State Road 54 and across the street from the Land O' Lakes Recreation Complex.

"I looked in the windows and the house was full of smoke; it was down to the floor," King said. "I called out but nobody answered. I could hear the dogs barking."

It was not immediately clear how the fire started, said Pasco Fire Rescue Assistant Chief Mike Ciccarello, adding that the sheriff's office and state fire marshal's office also were investigating.

Distraught family members huddled near a pickup beside the house; deputies said the family did not want to comment.

"We would always see kids playing over there," said Deborah Berg, who has lived across the street from Andersen for about three years. "But I didn't really know her directly. They kind of stayed to themselves."

Anne Stoppa, who lives nearby, said she sometimes spoke to Andersen while they walked their dogs.

"This is very sad," she said. "We mainly just saw them in passing."

Reporter Geoff Fox can be reached at (813) 779-4613.

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