A 13-year-old girl was one of two people killed when July Fourth fireworks sparked a huge blaze in her Midwest home — just two weeks after she beat cancer.
Jerilynn Brown had just rung the bell as she finally left the hospital late last month after a two-year battle with osteosarcoma, a form of bone cancer.
She died on the Fourth of July when smoldering debris from fireworks the night before ignited at the back of her family’s home in Independence, Missouri, engulfing it in flames around 5:30 a.m.
“It was a breezy night,” Independence Fire Chief Jimmy Walker told KHSB of the wind fanning the flames overnight.
“Hours can elapse while a fire smolders … We always have to worry about smoldering fires and the fact that they can go undiscovered for a number of hours and eventually can become out of hand quickly.”
told KMBC.
A second person, 52-year-old Marc Anthony Young Sr., died Sunday after fighting for his life for almost three days from injuries in the fire, his son, Marc Anthony Young Jr., told the outlet.
Jerilynn’s mom, Liz Stephens, remains in the hospital “fighting for her life” after being severely burned, said Jerilynn’s stepfather, Stephen Miller.
