Two of three injured family members are released from hospital after fatal Shawnee fire

Two relatives injured during a Thursday morning Shawnee house fire have been released from the University of Kansas Hospital’s burn center, the hospital said Friday. A third, a 91-year-old great-grandmother, was still in serious condition.

“The two patients discharged today responded well to treatment and haven’t developed any complications from their smoke inhalation injuries,” said Richard Korentager, chairman of plastic surgery and burns at the hospital. The great-grandmother’s “smoke inhalation injuries were more severe, and her age makes her slower to recover.”

Two other family members — 3-year-old Christian Young and his great-uncle, Ronnie Walkup, 63 — were killed in the fire.

Shawnee fire marshal Corey Sands said Friday that the cause was still being determined.

The tragedy came 25 years after another fatal fire affected the same family at the same Johnson County residence.

In 1989, 4-year-old Cody Young was killed and his grandfather seriously injured during a fire at the home in the 4800 block of Lucille Lane.

Family members have asked for privacy in the aftermath of the fire. They have established two fundraising pages at GoFundMe.com to help with funeral expenses, as well as to assist surviving family members: www.gofundme.com/babychristianyoung and www.gofundme.com/ronniewalkup.

“We are so grateful for the community’s interest and concern for our family, especially our neighbors,” family members Katie and Matt Young said in a joint statement. “We hope the community and media will understand and respect our need to work through this tragedy as a family first and understand why it’s been difficult to talk publicly until now.”

This story was originally published May 15, 2015 at 7:31 PM with the headline "Two of three injured family members are released from hospital after fatal Shawnee fire."