AL Woman Perishes After Running Back into Burning Home

JONES CHAPEL — Martha McBrayer ran out of her family home barefooted as flames engulfed the house just as dawn broke Tuesday morning.

She managed to escape with her mother and two brothers, but then the 45-year-old woman ran back inside, to get shoes and save her brother’s dog. The fire soon consumed the home, and firefighters later made the inevitable but still heartbreaking discovery.

McBrayer was found in a bathtub, her body sheltering the dog who also perished, said Ralph McBrayer, her uncle, who was at the home Tuesday afternoon.

Martha’s brothers, Don and Scott McBrayer, and their elderly mother, Allene, survived the blaze at the home tucked away on a gravel driveway along County Road 1089.

Don McBrayer suffered severe burns on his feet, head and arms and was taken to Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Ralph McBrayer said. A hospital spokesman said confirmed he was a patient and that he was listed in stable condition Tuesday evening.

Allene McBrayer was still being treated at Cullman Regional Medical Center Tuesday. Scott McBrayer was treated and released from the hospital.

“It’s just a horrible situation. We don’t know what to do or think,” said Ralph McBrayer as he and his wife surveyed the charred remnants of the house. “The Red Cross is helping the family.”

A fund has been established at Moss-Service Funeral Home to collect donations for McBrayer’s funeral. Arrangements have not been announced yet.

Ralph McBrayer said the fire reportedly started on the front porch, and Scott McBrayer awoke his mother and siblings to get them out of the house.

Jones Chapel firefighters were dispatched to the scene at 6:23 a.m. Battleground, West Point and Sardis fire departments were also called to assist in putting out the fire.

Cullman County Coroner Jeremy Kilpatrick later pronounced McBrayer dead at the scene, and her body was sent to the Alabama Department of Forensic Sciences for an autopsy.

The Alabama State Fire Marshal’s Office is conducting the investigation into what caused the fire.

Tiffeny Owens can be reached at 256-734-2131, ext. 135.

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