BAKER COUNTY, Fla. — A devastating fire in Baker County killed four family members and sent two others to the hospital Wednesday morning. It took volunteer fire fighters nine minutes to respond to the fire. Residents want to see changes made in the area that will prevent a similar tragedy in the future.
One of the key factors in Wednesday morning’s fatal fire was the remote nature of the home within this rural community. Baker County Fire Rescue station 30 is the closest station to the home that caught on fire and the station is more than five miles away from the house along County Road 125. The entire drive is through the woods. OC Horne Road is a dirt road and the house that caught on fire is still about a half mile down that dirt road.
Melody Baker, a woman who works at a gas station further CR-125 says that there is no cell phone service in the area and lost drivers will often stop at her store to ask to use the phone
“All the time," she said. "Constantly we have people coming in because they’re lost needing directions.”
Baker's husband said that a candle tipped over and started a fire at his house a few years ago, he had no cell signal and had to run to a neighbor’s house to use a land line to call the fire department.
“I grabbed a 5 gallon bucket, was dipping it in the ditch and running back to the house to put the fire out and by the time they got here which was about 20 minutes, maybe a little more, I’d already had the fire out,” said Mark Baker.
These residents would like cell phone towers installed nearby to create a reliable signal.
“We’re in a rural area and that’s where we want to be and we love it, but it would be nice to have a cell tower so we can get ahold of 911," said Mark Baker, "we depend on each other out here, we help each other out, we’re a tight little town out here.”
In the meantime, the neighbors look out for each other.
“We’re very family oriented out here and help your neighbor," said Melody Baker, "it’s what it’s all about.”
Calls from First Coast News to Baker County Fire and Rescue about response times regarding limited cell service were not immediately returned. Currently, the State Fire Marshal is investigating the cause of Wednesday morning’s fire and the family has told First Coast News that they are asking for privacy at this time.
The family of the victims have created a GoFundMe page for those who wish to donate. Click here to access the page.