Family identify Vinemont fire victims, fundraisers set up

Published 5:10 pm Tuesday, November 22, 2016

As authorities await DNA testing to confirm the identity of a fatal fire victim, family members named the woman and her critically injured husband Tuesday and are raising money to help in the recovery from the tragedy.

The woman was identified as Kim Chumley and her husband, Keith, as victims of the fatal blaze on County Road 1332 late Saturday night. Keith Chumley was listed in critical condition at UAB Hospital’s burn unit Tuesday afternoon, according to a hospital spokesman.

His daughter, Brittany Hamm, said her father suffered burns across 40 to 50 percent of his body, with the most life-threatening burns on his lungs from smoke inhalation. His wife, Kim Chumley, perished in the fire at a home they shared with Kim’s daughter, Kayla Carden, who was at work at the time.

Cullman County Coroner Jeremy Kilpatrick said he was awaiting DNA testing to confirm the victim’s identity which could take months. The Alabama State Fire Marshal’s Office is leading the investigation and has declined to offer details about how the fire may have started.

With Carden and Keith Chumley losing everything in the fire — including their mother and wife respectively — family and friends have established two online fundraisers to help them put their lives back together.

A GoFundMe page has been set up to raise money for Kim Chumley’s funeral expenses (www.gofundme.com/funeralforkim), with a $5,000 goal. As of Tuesday afternoon, $480 had been raised.

A second one was set up for Kayla Carden (www.gofundme.com/kayla-carden-family-fire-victim), with $1,095 raised of the $1,500 goal.

Keith Chumley has been making progress in the days since the fire, Hamm said.

“He’s been sedated all this time, and he’s had two skin grafts,” she said while on her way to Birmingham Tuesday. “His vitals look good, but anything can happen. The damage to his lungs is the most critical part the doctors are worried about.”

Hamm said her father suffered burns all over his body, with the worst on his upper thighs and legs. He and Kim Chumley had been together for 10 years and were planning to move to Dodge City, with Carden, to be closer to his job.

“The Red Cross is donating $500 toward Kim’s funeral expenses,” she said. “Kayla lost everything. It’s bad enough to lose your home and all your belongings in a fire, but to lose your mother, it’s just unimaginable.”