LYNN HAVEN — Long after the flames had been extinguished from a house fire that claimed the lives of a mother and infant son, neighbors still were in shock Thursday at what transpired the night before.
Flames already had engulfed a portion of the 1420 Carolina Ave. home about 10:30 p.m. Wednesday as numerous emergency responders arrived. Fire crews began dousing the flames only to learn that two people, 30-year-old Miranda Marie Corrigan and her infant son Michael Lane Humfleet, were unable to escape. By the fire’s end, three other adults were taken to a hospital for smoke inhalation, the Lynn Haven Fire Department reported.
Patricia Summerlin, who has lived across the street for about 25 years, was awakened by her dogs barking at what sounded like ammunition popping. Outside her window, she could see the flames towering about 10 feet over the roof as occupants fled.
“It just happened so fast,” Summerlin said. “I’ve never seen a fire take off like that.”
Summerlin said she ran toward the fire to greet the family, who had begun banging on the window of a bedroom where a mother and daughter slept.
“We never heard them cry,” Summerlin said. “I’m just hoping they fell asleep and never woke up. I’m hoping, anyway.”
Jane Leach, a neighbor on the backside of the house, said she was asleep when she heard banging on her front door and stepped outside to see the carport area of the home engulfed in flames. As a precaution, officers ordered her out of her house where fire trucks and firefighting equipment lined the block, she said.
Leach, who has lived in the neighborhood since 2000, said she had had only passing interactions with the neighbors, but they were always friendly. One of the men of the family cut her grass a few times after her husband died about a year earlier.
“I feel so bad for them,” Leach said. “They were a real nice family.”
As fire crews doused the remaining hot spots Thursday on the home’s charred skeleton, Lynn Haven Fire Chief John DeLongay said officials had yet to establish what started the fire or what caused it to become fully involved so quickly. He did note there was a “large fire load” of combustible material inside the house burning when crews arrived, but wasn’t sure if that was a contributing factor.
In addition to the deaths, three people were taken to a hospital for smoke inhalation. Firefighters were able to save several pets, but a cat and a dog also died, DeLonjay said.
Neighbors said the family had lived in the house for about six years. They mostly kept to themselves in that time but made sure to say hello in passing.
Summerlin recalled going to a yard sale recently at their home, where she played with the baby boy. The last she saw of the family, she was giving them pieces of clothing because they barely escaped in whatever they wore to sleep that night.
Fire marshals are investigating the cause of the fire. LHPD reported that they do not suspect foul play. Anyone with information regarding the fire is asked to call the Lynn Haven Police Department at 850-265-4111.