Twins Die in Fla. Mobile Home Fire

NEW PORT RICHEY Three-year-old New Port Richey twins died Monday morning when their trailer in the Moon Lake community became engulfed in flames.

Micah and Miah Shaver died inside the home at 10637 Wabayo St.

A call came in about 8:54 a.m. reporting the fire, according to the Pasco County Sheriff's Office.

When the deputy arrived, he found the mother, Shannon Garza, outside screaming that her children were trapped inside the burning mobile home.

"I can tell you, for our firefighters, for our deputies, for the first responders at the scene, it was a horrific scene inside," Sheriff Chris Nocco said. "Seeing it firsthand ourselves, it was a horrific scene. I can just tell you, again, if the community could just pray for those two little 3-year-olds. Right now they're with God, but their family is suffering, so please keep them in your thoughts and prayers."

Deputy Josh Ryle attempted to enter the back bedroom but was pushed back by flames.

Firefighters arrived and also attempted a rescue but were unable to reach the children. Fire Chief Buck Davidson said flames were coming from all the windows, making a rescue impossible.

Garza, 30, was taken to Regional Medical Center Bayonet Point for non-life-threatening injuries. Family members said she suffered burns to one of her arms.

Garza's boyfriend, Lonnie Stafford, was not home at the time of the fire, according to his brother, Gary Mackey.

Garza's two other children, Yolanda Garza, 13, and Joseph Garza, 12, were in school at River Ridge Middle at the time of the fire.

Dobies Funeral Home has offered a free cremation, and Church of Christ on River Road has offered its facility for a memorial.

Neighbor Kristy Holt, who lives two houses away, said she was returning home about 8:50 a.m. when she saw the smoke and flames coming from the home.

Holt said she tried to climb through a window, but the smoke and flames were too intense.

"There was a trash can right there, and I tried to get over it -- my hands are still sore -- and pull myself up," Holt said. "The couch was there sizzling. I was going to go in there, but it was too smoky. I had a big puff of black smoke, and I didn't think it was a good idea. I didn't really know the house."

According to neighbor Teka Hawkins, several people attempted to get inside the house and snatch the twins from the flames.

Mackey said Garza and her children moved from Kentucky about a year ago.

"You're not going to see them walking down the road anymore," Mackey said of the twins. "They would come over here to my dad's. They loved the mini pool. ... They played with the kids all the time. The kids will never be back over here again now."

Mackey's wife, Laurie, said the twins were fun-loving kids.

"They loved the water, that was for sure," she said. "They loved swimming. They were very happy little kids."

About 10:45 a.m. Monday, word spread through the neighborhood that the bodies of the twins had been found.

PauletteDorner, who lives a couple blocks away and has hosted Yolanda and Joseph Garza in her home, collapsed to the ground, sobbing at the news.

"They found the babies," she cried out.

Dorner said her daughter, Kaylee Roach, 14, had become best friends with Yolanda and Joseph. She even held the twins when they were babies.

"I can't imagine being a mother losing (her children),"Dorner said. "I couldn't bear losing my kids. Honestly, I could not bear losing my kids."

Two houses down from the mobile home, Kaylee, eyes still red from crying, was asked what was going through her mind as she stared at the charred remains.

She responded: "Silence."

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Paulette Dorner, above, a family acquaintance, sobs as she hears the news that the children had died in a fire.