Loss of home, cancer diagnosis can’t extinguish hope for KC-area family, friends
Just after midnight a week ago, Jen Ebert got a text she didn’t see until around sunrise that morning.
It was from Jill Evans, one of her best friends whom she’s known for 20 years. And the words from Jill, who had just been diagnosed with cancer the month before, were crushing.
“We just lost our house to a fire,” Jill Evans, of Shawnee, wrote to Ebert at 12:17 a.m. Tuesday, March 31. “Jen, I have no words. We have nothing.”
Ebert rushed to get her kids ready for school that morning and leave her Columbia home for the Kansas City area where Jill and her husband, Jason, were in disbelief realizing what all had been taken. Before she even got on the road, Ebert quickly created her first GoFundMe account, hoping to raise a little money for Evans and her family to get some clothes and supplies.
She had no idea that the decision to do the fundraiser would generate so much more than money for her close friends, but comfort and inspiration for all of them during such a devastating time.
“The loss has left them without a safe place to stay and without many of the belongings they need for daily life,” read the fundraiser post that Ebert wrote. “The emotional and physical toll of fighting cancer is already immense, and this tragedy has made things even more difficult for their family.”
Hundreds of people have donated to the GoFundMe, and others have purchased gift cards for dinners and other meals and given household items the family can use as they rebuild. And still more have reached out after a social media post from Extra Virgin, a Michael Smith restaurant where Jason Evans is a manager.
“Jason and his family are grateful for the outpouring of community support,” the post about the fire read. “Let’s keep it going; this is going to be a long journey to recovery.”
By the time Ebert reached the Kansas City area last week to help her friends, the fund had raised $2,000 and by the end of that Tuesday, it had passed $20,000. Today, it’s surpassed $37,000.
“In today’s world right now, with all we see is terrible things, and everybody hating on each other and wars and all that stuff, sometimes it feels like there’s no good people left,” Ebert said.
“But then whenever you turn off the news and just focus on your community,” she said, as her sentence trailed off. “I know this sounds crazy, but it’s been pretty uplifting and hopeful to see so many people come together and just support Jill and Jason. … It’s been like, ‘Oh my gosh, there’s still good people out there.’”
Fire on Garnett Street
When Ebert got to the Shawnee home, she could see the loss. Fire had consumed the backside of the split-level home, ravaged the kids’ bedrooms and almost every corner of the home.
Her friend told her that she had woken up the night before after 11 p.m. and thought to herself, Why does someone have a bonfire going outside? Jill Evans heard the crackling and could smell the smoke, Ebert said.
She soon looked out the primary bathroom window, which is on the bottom floor.
“Her entire porch, the pillars of the porch, the roof of the porch, the backyard, everything was engulfed in flames,” Ebert said, describing what her friend had told her she saw. “The way she explained it to me is she just screamed and panicked thinking her kids were upstairs.”
The husband and wife, their two kids — ages 16 and 13 — and Warren, their short-haired mixed breed dog, were all safe. The family stood outside in their pajamas and called 911 as they watched their home continue to burn.
Around 11:45 p.m. that Monday night, the Shawnee Fire Department, Lenexa Fire Department, Overland Park Fire Department, and Consolidated Fire District No. 2 responded to a report of a house fire in the 5100 block of Garnett Street. The fire had extended to a neighboring home, said Emily Rittman, public safety information officer for the Shawnee Fire Department.
“Upon arrival, crews reported two working structure fires,” Rittman said. “They initiated an offensive fire attack and extinguished both fires. The fire was determined to be under control in approximately 45 minutes.”
No one was injured, she said. Total damage is estimated at $800,000.
The cause of the fire remains under investigation, Rittman said, and is currently undetermined.
“The kids rooms were completely destroyed,” Ebert said. “Not a single thing remained. I think maybe one pair of white crocs made it out.”
Few things owned by the Evanses were saved. Among them were the kids’ birth certificates, Ebert said, and a gymnastics medal. Some clothes and shoes on the bottom floor were salvaged and have been sent to be cleaned.
Ebert said she’s marveled at how her friends have remained positive through everything, clinging to each other and making sure the kids are good.
‘Moved us to tears’
A couple of days after the fire, Jill Evans posted on Facebook thanking everyone who has reached out to the family.
“We are overwhelmed with appreciation for the love and support you have shown us,” she wrote. Losing their home so soon after the cancer diagnosis, Jill Evans said, “was particularly difficult.”
“Your kindness has moved us to tears of gratitude and love,” she said. “Life is short, but there is hope because we have each other. … Go hug someone and love on everyone you see.”
Next week, Jill Evans begins her cancer treatment. The hope now is that the family can find a suitable rental home before she undergoes the radiation and chemotherapy.
Funds from the account will go toward helping the family rebuild their lives, the fundraiser said.
As Ebert wrote in the GoFundMe:
“Every dollar will help ease their burden and show them that they are not alone.”
This story was originally published April 7, 2026 at 12:33 PM.
