Relatives remember family of 4 who died in Independence fire
Loves ones are mourning the loss of a family killed in a fire at an Independence apartment.
By La’Nita Brooks
Click here for updates on this story
INDEPENDENCE, Missouri (KSHB) — Relatives of the family of four who died in Wednesday’s apartment fire in Independence are remembering their loved ones.
Jennifer Zielinski remembers the last time she called her daughter Katelyn McShann before realizing she was gone. Every morning, she picks up her daughter and granddaughters to take them to work and school.
But Wednesday morning, they never came out.
“I called her it went straight to voicemail,” Zielinski said through tears. “I called him (Katelyn’s husband) and it went straight to voicemail. Then I called her again and it rang, and it rang, and no one ever answered.”
Her daughter Katelyn, granddaughters three-year-old Aaliyah McShann and eight-year-old Bella Edwards, and son-in-law DeVante McShann died in the Indy Ridge apartment fire Wednesday.
Edwards was in the 2nd grade at William Yates Elementary School in the Blue Springs School District.
The family describes them as the light of their lives.
“I look here at all three of the girls and DeVante you can see the light in every, I mean just, it changes the whole room when they walk in,” said Zielinski.
Thursday, they got tattoos in remembrance of their loved ones. The art is as permanent as the pain.
As so many others impacted by the fire are now left to pick up the pieces of their lives, they’re left to pick up the pieces of their heart.
“To be perfectly honest, I’m not looking forward to learning what life is like after this,” Zielinski said.
The family started a GoFundMe to help with the family of four’s final expenses.
Independence Fire Chief Jimmy Walker said the fire started in one apartment and then spread to other units in the building, including the unit where the family who died lived.
More than 30 other people were displaced in the fire.
Jaiyah Robers wrote that firefighters rescued her, her infant son, her mother and two sisters from the top floor of the three-story apartment building. While they were able to escape, they lost everything, including gifts from her son’s recent 1st birthday.
On Wednesday morning, KSHB 41 News reporter Marlon Martinez spoke with Josiah Piercey, who described how neighbors knocked on the door of his family’s apartment to help them escape. He said he, his wife and their baby boy were able to safely escape.
Jocquan Bowden wrote that she was able to escape with four pets, though sadly two of the pets panicked, ran away and didn’t survive.
Friends of Terry Rowe say he was also among those residents who was rescued from the top story of the apartment.
They writethat firefighters broke through his window to help bring him to safety.
The local chapter of the American Red Cross is helping to provide assistance for families displaced in the fire.
Please note: This content carries a strict local market embargo. If you share the same market as the contributor of this article, you may not use it on any platform.
