January 12, 2026

Alabama Brother and Sister Die in House Fire

By Digital News Team
Blue RAM Media/Gulf Coast News

January 12, 2026

MULGA, Ala. A house fire in Mulga claimed the lives of a brother and sister Wednesday, according to their pastor.

The Jefferson County Coroner’s Office has identified the brother as Charley James Carlisle, Sr. He was 79 and lived in Detroit, Michigan. A tentative identification has been made on his sister, pending completion of dental comparison.

The Minor Fire Department responded to the fire in the 1500 block of Pine Street at around 10:43 p.m.

Timothy Sanford, the siblings’ pastor at Shady Grove Missionary Baptist Church, told WBRC’s Brady Talbert that they were in their 70s, adding they had beautiful smiles and attitudes.

Sanford said he recently saw the brother and is asking for people to remember the siblings as warm and inviting.

“I had just seen the brother the day before this happened, maybe Tuesday, he had a beautiful smile…. His sister, I’ve known her for 13 years, beautiful attitude. She was always happy. I have to lead a community, a church, to remind them to think on the good. Remember them as warm, as inviting, as engaging… How you interacted with them and not how they ended their life.”

Melvina Shelley, a neighbor of the siblings of more than 40 years, said she could feel the heat from the house when she walked up to the door.

She says they treated each other like they were family.

“We treated each other like family… When he would start cooking cars would start pulling up. Like okay, we about to have a party cause he’s already got his radio going,” Shelley said.

Shelley says the brother was a protector and took care of his little sister, and she was the one to keep people laughing.

The Alabama State Fire Marshal’s Office is investigating the cause and origin of the fire, and the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office is investigating the circumstances surrounding the deaths.