One child dead, 4 injured in fire

LAKE COUNTY, Fla. (WOFL FOX 35) - A toddler died when a mobile home exploded and caught fire in the Pine Hills community in northeast Lake County near the Lake-Volusia county line on Wednesday.

Keith Grose was distraught after learning that his mobile home went up in flames. His girlfriend and her children were inside. “I don't know what to do,” Grose said. “I lost the lives of two children. I lost all my stuff.”

In fact, one of two children died at the scene, while the other is clinging to life.

Lake County Assistant Fire Chief Jack Fillman said the fire started around 3 p.m. in the front of the house and quickly engulfed over seventy percent of the structure.

“We actually cut a hole into the mobile home and extracted three patients,” Fillman said.

Once inside, firefighters found Brandi Kerr, 24, holding her 18-month-old twin boys. One twin died outside the burned home. Kerr was airlifted to Orlando Regional Medical Center and the surviving twin was taken to a nearby hospital before being airlifted to Arnold Palmer Hospital for Children.

“Because of the extreme severities of his injuries, he was ground transported to West Volusia,” Chief Fillman said. “All three of them were in the same area of the home when we found them.”

Grose rushed home when he heard about the fire. “I came home and i tried to go through the back window and the fire people kept pulling me out.”

The surviving child is fighting for his life. “I knew right where they were, cause they’d been here for three days,” Grose said. Fire crews also reported that 57-year-old Sandra Goad is fighting for her life after attempting to rescue Kerr and her children.

Goad lived at the residence. Fire investigators believe Goad’s oxygen tank somehow caught fire.

“It has been a while since we’ve had pediatrics involved in a fatality in a fire. It’s devastating to the family … it’s a bad scene all the way around, when you’re dealing with children,” Chief Fillman said.