VESTABURG, Mich. — A 13-year-old girl died in a Montcalm County house fire Wednesday morning.
Michigan State Police says the fire broke out at a home on North Caris Road in Vestaburg around 7 a.m. Wednesday.
When first responders arrived, they learned the teenager was unaccounted for.
Detectives and a K-9 unit later found her remains inside.
FOX 17 talked with neighbors Wednesday who say they tried to help save her.
“I heard these gut-wrenching screams, ‘help me, help me, help me! My baby’s inside. My baby’s inside!” Sue Woods recalled. “The house was, it was so hot. The heat was so intense. The heat was so intense that it was, it was no way we were going to be able to get her.”
Woods says the 13-year-old girl, one of seven children, did not make it out of the home.
“It was the most helpless, horrible thing I’ve ever witnessed. But it was obvious when we couldn’t get to the house. I just grabbed dad and said, ‘your other six children need you now. You cannot get to her without hurting yourself. Your babies need you. We need to back away,’” Woods explained.
The fire destroyed the home. Woods and other neighbors quickly jumped into action to help the family.
“I mean literally they came out of the house. One had a blanket around her and that was it and the other kids were barefoot and might have had a pajama top on, but bare-legged and it was, it was terror for them,” Woods added. “We got clothing on them, wrapped them in blankets, got them some food, got them some water and we sat with them for a couple hours.”
Woods, who barely knew the family, says she will do whatever she can to help them move forward.
“They just needed hugs and they needed warmth and they needed somebody to kind of let them know that this is a terrible, terrible thing, but there are people who will care and help you.”
The American Red Cross also provided immediate help to the family.
Fire crews are still working to figure out what sparked the flames, but they do not believe it was suspicious.
MSP credits the following agencies for their assistance: Montcalm County Sheriff’s Office, Home Township Fire Department, Richland Township Fire Department, Montcalm County EMS, Montcalm County Victim’s Services and the Michigan Red Cross.
