ever since i read this story this morning i’ve been thinking about what this kid could possibly be going through right now. i just wish everyone would be thinking about him, praying for him, hoping he finds some sort of purpose after such a tragedy in his life. i obviously have never met this kid, but i hope he is doing the best he can possibly be doing right now…
Kitchen fire kills three
An early morning kitchen fire in east Charlotte today claimed the lives of a mother and two of her children.
Firefighters arrived at the Silver Oaks Apartments in the 6600 block of Monroe Road just after 1 a.m. today and found the two-story apartment engulfed in flames.
Crews found the mother and two children inside, and rescued them. The mother died shortly after, and the two children, ages 13 and 2, died at a hospital a short time later.
The unidentified mother’s 18-year-old son, who was sleeping on the downstairs couch, escaped the fire.
Charlotte fire Capt. Rob Brisley said the fire began in the kitchen, the result of food on the stove left unattended. A neighbor of the victims said the 18-year-old had been making french fries on the stove and fell asleep.
“He tried to put it out and couldn’t and then he called 911,” said Cora Beaufort, who kept the boy in her apartment until Saturday afternoon, when his grandparents arrived from Michigan. “He’s in shock right now. He’s barely talking.”
Brisley said the department was alerted to the fire by three 911 calls, one of which was phoned in by the 18-year-old. Brisley said the son was waiting outside the apartment when firefighters arrived.
“Throughout this tragic ordeal, the surviving young man is receiving care and support from a Charlotte-Mecklenburg Crisis Counselor, the Charlotte Fire Department, and the American Red Cross,” Brisley said.
Kate Meier, of the American Red Cross chapter in Charlotte, said her organization is providing food, clothing and shelter for residents of three apartment units that were affected. The Red Cross also provided relief for firefighters and other first-responders, she said.
Officials have yet to release the victims’ names.
