EAST PALATKA, Fla. — The Putnam County Sheriff’s Office confirmed to Action News Jax on Thursday that a fifth victim died as a result of a mobile home fire in East Palatka last month.
During the fire on May 12, brothers Fernando Hernandez Mendez, 31, and Enrique Hernandez Mendez, 33, died in the home on N. Maryland Avenue, while a 4-year-old boy died at the hospital.
We now know that the baby, Jesus Hernandez, was taken off life support sometime after being taken to the hospital, according to PCSO. His mother, 27-year-old Carolina Gomez, had died at the hospital on May 14, two days after the fire.
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Gomez’ 7-year-old daughter, Elizabeth, had also been hospitalized, but appears to have survived. After the fire began, PCSO said she managed to escape the home and reach a neighbor, who called 911. According to family members, the 7-year-old had stayed home from school that day because of a medical appointment scheduled for later that morning.
The state fire marshal determined that it had been an electrical fire. The five deaths were ruled accidental.
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