Mom, 46, Dies in Mobile Home Fire Despite Neighbors' Rescue Efforts as Teen Son and Friends Survive
A 46-year-old woman is dead after a fire engulfed her Michigan home on Aug. 4, authorities said
Her 13-year-old son and his two friends were able to escape without serious injury
"It was chaotic,' a neighbor said about the tragic incidentA 46-year-old Michigan woman is dead after a fire engulfed her mobile home, authorities said.
Her 13-year-old son and his two friends were able to escape the Monday, Aug. 4, blaze, but neighbors weren't able to get her out of the building in time, the Oakland County Sheriff's Office said in a press release shared on Facebook.
Authorities said emergency responders responded just before 7:15 a.m. local time to Clarkston Lakes, a mobile home community in Clarkston. When they arrived, the single-wide mobile home in the 3800 block of Cedar Loop was 'engulfed in flames."
'Neighbors were unsuccessful in their attempts to help the mother escape from the rear of the home,' the sheriff's office said. The woman, who has not been identified at this time, died as a result of the fire.
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Authorities said the woman's 13-year-old son, who was in a rear bedroom, and two boys, ages 14 and 15, who were in the front of the house, all escaped without serious injury. An investigation into the cause of the fire is ongoing.
The Oakland County Sheriff's Office and the Oakland County Medical Examiner's Office have been contacted by PEOPLE for further comment.
Just hours after the flames subsided, locals shared harrowing details about the fire and attempts to save the woman.
'It was chaotic,' a neighbor, Robert Elder, told FOX affiliate WJBK. 'There were people running around, screaming, trying to figure out if everybody was out.'
He and another resident living nearby tried to rescue the 46-year-old woman when they realized she was trapped inside.
"We were pulling on her, and then we would almost take turns pulling on her,' he told the outlet. 'At one point I think we both grabbed her arms trying to pull on her.'
Elder compared the heat of the fire to being near the sun. The flames caused the sides of neighbors' homes to melt, WJBK reported.
"We pretty much heard her take her last breath," Elder told the outlet. "That was the hardest part.'
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The man added that he wished that he could have done more to save her, according to WJBK.
Oakland County Sheriff Michael Bouchard offered his thoughts and prayers to the family following the tragic incident, and also issued a reminder to residents.
'While we are still in the process of determining cause and origin, any fire is a reminder that we should make sure our smoke and carbon monoxide detectors are in working order,' he said in a statement, 'and we know how to escape from any room in our house should an emergency call for it.'
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