LITHIA, Fla. — Two small children and their father died in a mobile home fire Monday afternoon in Lithia, despite the efforts of first responders.
Hillsborough County Sheriff Chad Chronister said the first call about the fire on Pritcher Road came just after 1 p.m. The mother of the two children told emergency workers her 3-year-old toddler had woken her up to tell her the home was on fire.
According to Chronister, the mother — 22-year-old Veronica Bermudez — told the first arriving deputy that as soon as her child told her about the fire, she began looking for a way out.
The first deputy arrived on-scene shortly before firefighters. He met the mother outside the home and looked for a way to enter the home.
However, the sheriff said the fire was so intense the deputy was unable to get within 20 feet of the mobile home.
The mother told the deputy the last thing she remembered was turning around and seeing her husband — 22-year-old Angel Lopez, Sr. — with the other two children, 5-year-old Angel Lopez, Jr. and 14-month-old Harmony Lopez.
Chronister said Hillsborough Fire Rescue arrived on the scene shortly after the deputy did, but it was too late.
“They go to try to make entry, and the blaze was so intense that the whole roof of the mobile home collapsed," Chronister said.
The father and two children died in the blaze.
Firefighters were eventually able to get in and found the father and pulled him from the fire, but he was already dead, authorities said. No one was able to get back in to remove the children's bodies until more of the fire had been put out.
“As you could imagine, there is going to be a lot of counseling that our brothers and sisters at Hillsborough County Fire Rescue and our deputies are going to have to see," the sheriff said.
Chronister said the mother and 3-year-old were taken to the hospital as a precaution but were not injured in the fire.
The cause of the fire is still under investigation.
Monday afternoon, as investigators search for the fire's cause, grief-stricken family members expressed their heartbreak, shock and frustration.
“Think about a baby. There’s a baby — not even a 2-year-old baby — that was in there, and I feel like a lot of people failed on doing their job," said Suzette Peña, the cousin of Bermudez.
However, in a prior news conference, the sheriff said first responders did all they could, given the fire's intensity and how quickly it spread.
“The blaze took over the residence — the mobile home — so fast that no one could have done anything more than was done here today," he said.
Both Chronister and Peña described the family devastated by the fire as extremely hard-working.
According to Peña, Bermudez took the afternoon nap after working a 2 a.m. shift Monday. She planned to work an extra shift later on Monday to further provide for her family.
As for Bermudez's husband, Lopez, Peña said he was in between jobs, but the dedicated husband would protect his wife by standing guard outside her workplace, a convenience store in the area, where Bermudez would often work overnight.
Peña said Bermudez escaped the fire with just the nightgown she was wearing. Her surviving toddler, 3-year-old Elijah Lopez, escaped with just a diaper. She said they will need help in the form of clothing, food, and a place to live.
On Tuesday, Peña gave an update saying Elijah was out of the hospital. Peña said the mom was admitted to the hospital, explaining she is going through some breathing treatments, though her burns are getting taken care of and no surgery is needed.
Relatives are also now fundraising to help the family. For more information, click here.
