- March 2, 2025
The destroyed home on Airport Road belongs to a member of the Durrance family, which owns of Halifax Paving.
BY WAYNE GRANT | STAFF WRITER
A marching song was playing softly from somewhere beneath the piles of charred wood and home furnishings that were burned beyond recognition. The electricity had been turned off, of course, but music defiantly came from the house that had been destroyed by flames 12:10 a.m. Thursday.
“Must be something with really good batteries,” said neighbor Wayne Conroy, as he walked around the shell of the house. Some walls were standing but the entire roof had given way and the rooms were full of burned debris. A huge, stone fireplace still stood in the rubble, open to the sky.
The house at 471 Airport Road was fully engulfed in flames when the fire department arrived, and the structure was completely destroyed. Officials estimated the damage at $400,000.
The occupant of the home, JoLynn Durrance, was out of town the night of the incident, according to Conroy, who is also her brother-in-law. She did not return a call seeking comment.
The two-story home, built in 1980, was more than 3,000 square feet, with three bedrooms and three bathrooms.
“It had everything you could think of,” Conroy said. “There was a music room, sauna, pool."
Through a window of one room, you could see the remains of a drum set.
“That was the music room,” he said. “JoLynn is an accomplished singer.”
He said the construction may have added to how quickly it burned.
“There was some brick and rock, with some local coquina, but it was mostly cypress and cedar,” he said.
The fire department reported that the fire did not appear to be suspicious and the State Fire Marshal is investigating the cause. The Ormond Beach Fire Department, Ormond Beach Police Department, Volusia County Fire Services and EVAC responded. There were no reported injuries.
Conroy said he was awakened Thursday by a call from a neighbor on the other side of the burned house. As he approached the house he could see that it was too late. His neighbor had called the fire department.
Two dogs were found unharmed. One dog was caught by the daughter of a neighbor and the other dog was placed in a patrol car by a police officer who arrived on scene.
Conroy said the fire department sprayed the house to keep it from spreading and there were three or four fire trucks present.
JoLynn Durrance was living in the house by herself, according to Conroy. Her husband Tommy died about six years ago. Tommy Durrance was the son of Leonard Durrance, for whom Durrance Lane was named.
The Durrance family, according to Conroy, owns Halifax Paving.
