By Daily Mail (U.S.) | Created at 2024-12-06 01:47:14 | Updated at 2024-12-22 11:13:36
2 weeks ago
A doctor has been killed in a horror fire at her $2.4 million Florida home.
Karen Ruthman, 60, died in the blaze at her mansion in Plantation in the early hours of Thursday morning.
Fire fighters were alerted to reports of heavy smoke at the property at 3.44am. Ruthman was taken to the hospital where she later died.
Battalion Chief Cary Blanchard told NBC6 the fire appeared to have started on the first floor of the six bedroom property.
It remains unclear what may have caused the blaze, although a burned out gas canister was seen outside the property as investigators combed through the wreckage.
Neighbors expressed their shock over the death of the 'friendly' doctor.
'We walk here every morning and this is a shocker, this is a real nice neighborhood,' one local said.
Doctor Karen Ruthman, pictured, died after a fire at her stunning Florida mansion
The $2.4 million mansion in Plantation Acres is pictured after the horrific blaze
'She's a very nice lady, she was a doctor,' another added. 'Her husband was also a doctor. I'm very sad that she passed away. She was a very nice person.'
The property appeared intact and relatively undamaged from the outside in helicopter footage shot by NBC Miami, although interior images have not been made available.
Ruthman was a family practice physician in Weston where she owned her own clinic, Ruthman Medical Group.
She earned her medical degree from the University of Massachusetts and had more than 30 years' experience in the field.
She and her husband, who is also a doctor, lived at the sprawling 6,776 square foo, six bathroom home in ritzy Plantation Acres.
The ritzy community sits west of Fort Lauderdale and on the edge of the Florida Everglades.
Average house prices sit at $1.15 million, with the area known for homes that sit on huge lots giving plenty of space for a pool and garden.
