Mother and four children lose all in fire

By Hal Scheurich

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    FAIRHOPE, Alabama (WALA) — A Fairhope family who lost everything in a house fire is now getting much-needed help from the community. A mother and her four children narrowly escaped Wednesday morning and could only watch as their home was destroyed.

“I’m screaming for help…screaming for my daughter,” said an emotional Korinell Smith. “Where’s Evelyn? Where’s Evelyn? I come over here. She’s standing at the window where it started, sucking her thumb, just watching it.”

It was a parent’s worst nightmare and it turned real for Smith Wednesday morning, August 4, 2021. Smith said her four-year-old son ran up to her saying his mattress was on fire. Smith went into survival mode.

“I grabbed the baby and by the time I picked her up and turned around, there was black smoke everywhere and I had my three-year-old by my side and basically, by his head I’m pushing him out the door,” Smith recalled.

All Smith and her four children could do was stand in a neighbor’s yard and watch their trailer and all their belongings burn. That neighbor was Tasha Finn, who had just finished her overnight shift at Thomas Hospital.

“Thank goodness they were awake and could get out because if they had been asleep, they may not have woke up in time,” Finn said.

Finn and other neighbors who live on Jane Lane of County Rd. 32 immediately stepped up to help. Through social networking, Finn found others wanting to donate everything from clothes, to diapers and money to the Smith family. Smith was able to see the generosity of neighbors Thursday afternoon and it brought her to tears.

“All I can do is cry. I wish I could thank every single person individually and I’m hoping that everybody who’s donated will see this and know that I’m so grateful. I’m so, so, so grateful,” sobbed Smith.

The American Red Cross put the family up in a hotel Wednesday night and Ecumenical Ministries is getting them a room for the next five nights, providing the Smiths a chance to unwind and make a plan for pushing forward. Neighbors are in the process of setting up a Go-Fund-Me account. The cause of the fire under investigation.

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