Financial help sought for Independence fire victims

Relatives and friends of the Independence family who lost their home in a fire Saturday are appealing to the public for financial help.

Meanwhile, the 5-year-old girl who suffered burns over about one-third of her body remains in intensive care at Children’s Mercy Hospital, according to the family. The child had second- and third-degree burns and also suffered from smoke inhalation.

The girl was in critical condition Sunday night, according to a hospital spokeswoman.

The fire was reported shortly after noon Saturday in the 10100 block of Winner Road. Neighbors used a wrought-iron bench to break out a front window and then pulled the child from the burning house.

Mike Turner, his girlfriend and her daughter moved into the duplex on Friday. Turner, a tow truck driver, and his girlfriend escaped out a back window. They suffered minor smoke inhalation injuries.

At least two GoFundMe pages have been set up to assist the family. Find them here and here.

Amy Price, Turner’s sister, established one of the accounts to help the family get back on its feet. She said they lost most of their belongings in the fire.

“Everything is gone, pretty much. A few clothes, but not much was salvageable,” Price said.

She said they have “no living arrangements at this time.”

Obviously, though, the family’s chief concern at the moment is the little girl, Price said.

“A lot of people are really being generous in prayers and comments,” she added. “We just really want people to keep praying because it’s such a tragic thing to happen to a 5-year-old girl.”

This story was originally published February 22, 2015 at 10:12 AM with the headline "Financial help sought for Independence fire victims."