A tragic fire claimed the life of a 46-year-old woman in Michigan after flames tore through her mobile home early Monday, Aug. 4, authorities confirmed.
According to a press release from the Oakland County Sheriff’s Office, the woman’s 13-year-old son and his two friends were able to escape the blaze, but efforts to save her were unsuccessful.
Emergency crews responded just before 7:15 a.m. local time to Clarkston Lakes, a mobile home park in Clarkston. Upon arrival, they found the single-wide home in the 3800 block of Cedar Loop already fully 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 yet been publicly identified, died in the fire.
The woman’s son had been in a rear bedroom, while the two other boys, ages 14 and 15, were at the front of the house. All three managed to escape without serious injuries. The cause of the fire is under investigation.
The Oakland County Sheriff’s Office and the Oakland County Medical Examiner’s Office have been contacted by PEOPLE for further comment.
In the aftermath, neighbors recounted the chaotic and heartbreaking moments as they tried to save the woman trapped inside.
:max_bytes(150000):strip_icc():focal(561x0:563x2):format(webp)/woman-dies-in-fire-3-080525-e8bee83a76f74b749b46d31dce627ee8.jpg)
“It was chaotic,” neighbor Robert Elder told WJBK. “There were people running around, screaming, trying to figure out if everybody was out.”
Elder and another nearby resident rushed to help when they realized she hadn’t made it out.
“We were pulling on her, and then we would almost take turns pulling on her,” he recalled. “At one point I think we both grabbed her arms trying to pull on her.”
He described the intensity of the fire as unbearable, comparing it to “being next to the sun.” The flames were so severe they melted the sides of neighboring homes, according to WJBK.
“We pretty much heard her take her last breath,” Elder said. “That was the hardest part.”
Elder expressed regret that he couldn’t do more to save her.
Oakland County Sheriff Michael Bouchard extended his condolences to the family and used the moment to stress fire safety awareness.
“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, “and we know how to escape from any room in our house should an emergency call for it.”
