Two dead after house fire in Holly Pond

HOLLY POND, Ala. (WAFF) - Two people are dead after an early morning house fire in Holly Pond on Wednesday.

Cullman County Coroner Jeremy Kilpatrick confirmed one male and one female were found dead in a home on County Road 1728 in Holly Pond around 2 a.m. on Feb. 22. Kilpatrick confirmed the bodies will be sent for autopsy.

According to family members at the scene, four people were in the home, including two grandparents, and a father and son.

Kilpatrick confirmed that Michael Olinger, 37, and Deborah Olinger, 64, were killed in the fire. The grandfather was transported to a Birmingham hospital with severe injuries.

Neighbors in the community stopped by the scene of the fire to pay their respects to Michael and Deborah Olinger. Alan Johns lives up the road from the now-destroyed home and hopes the injured grandfather makes a full recovery.

”Tragically, like I said, he lost his wife, he lost his son. From what I hear. he’s got several burns on his hands and the little grandson, from what I hear is doing fine. God-willing, maybe everything’s gonna be fine, but I’m sorry for his loss,” Johns says.

The cause of death for both people is unknown at this time.

Holly Pond High School released the following statement sending their support for the family.

As many of you may know by now, there was a house fire in our community last night. Please pray for one of our students and their family as they deal with this tragedy. We will provide more information soon on how you can help but for now they are needing our love, support, and prayers.

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