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Funds, memorials grow for fire victims
By Joe Gorman
YOUNGSTOWN
As makeshift memorials continue to grow at 434 Parkcliffe Ave. where five children died in a fire late Sunday, so do efforts to help the family.
A fund established by Mahoning Valley Sojourn To The Past generated $4,000 in less than 24 hours, said Penny Wells, director of Sojourn, a nonprofit organization that specializes in teaching lessons from the 1960s civil rights movement. The money will be used to help pay for the kids’ funeral expenses, Wells said.
As others looked for ways to help the children’s mother, Amy Negron Acevedo, 26, she remains in MetroHealth Medical Center in Cleveland in critical condition with burns and smoke inhalation suffered in the fire.
Tommie Carter and his son, George Loron, both of Parkcliffe, were among people who stopped by the memorial Tuesday night to pay their respects to the kids and offer sympathy to their mom.
“They didn’t have much,” Loron said of the family. “We aren’t family, but we are a tight neighborhood. If someone on the block needs help, people help if they can,” he said.
Carter quietly sang “Silent Night” while Loron took photos of the growing memorials of stuffed animals and toys and flowers.
Gloria Marlowe of Youngstown said she and her family once escaped from a house fire and knows how devastating it can be.
“I cried when I thought how terrible it would be to lose the children all at one time. I hope the mother will be able to overcome the situation,” she said.
Youngstown State University Police Sgt. William Mays of East Liverpool left five YSU police patches as a way of paying respect.
“I don’t have any children, but if I did, I’d like to help them make the hard choices growing up. These kids didn’t have a chance to make choices,” said Mays.
The Rev. Charles Robinson Jr. of Youngstown, pastor of Faith Center Church of God in Christ in Pittsburgh, said he visited the memorials to offer support.
“As a community, we have to pull together and pray and offer hope during this tragedy,” he said.
City fire investigator Capt. Kurt Wright was expected to interview Negron Acevedo in the hospital Tuesday.
Investigators believe the fire to be accidental, although they have not yet released an exact cause. Wright said he is awaiting tests of samples of the home taken by the state Fire Marshal’s Office to be performed.
A spokesman for the Fire Marshal’s Office said Tuesday testing usually takes from three days to two weeks, depending on what needs to be tested and the amount of work already underway at the lab.
The fire started on the South Side home’s first floor. Two of the children died there, and the other three died at St. Elizabeth Youngstown Hospital.
The children are Aleysha Rosario, 9; Charles Gunn, 3; Ly’Asia Gunn, 2; and twins Brianna Negron and Arianna Negron, both 1.
Wells said the fact so much money was raised in such a short period of time shows how the deaths have touched the city and also shows how many good people there are. “It shows that people have been disturbed about what happened,” Wells said. “It affected them emotionally. It also shows the giving side of Youngstown.”
At the home, the pair of makeshift memorials of stuffed animals and toys and balloons has grown since a woman who did not know the family at all stopped by early Monday to leave a stuffed animal because she felt awful for them. There were also candles, and someone left a Bible.
Someone also gathered up toys that were scattered in the yard and added them to the piles, which were stacked up against a pair of utility poles.
Tuesday, cars continued to cruise by the home slowly, and those inside craned their heads to get a look at the fire-damaged house. Some people stopped briefly, among them Daniel Bates, who was there shortly after the fire broke out about 11:25 p.m. Sunday.
Bates said he is friends with the home’s landlord and came when he heard of the fire. He said it is one of the saddest things he has ever seen.
“It was pretty bad when I got here,” he said, before pausing and then repeating, “It was pretty bad.”
During the fire and its aftermath, the street was crowded with firetrucks and ambulances, he said, more than he has ever seen before.
Those who wish to contribute to Sojourn To The Past’s effort to help the family can find information on its Facebook page, or send checks to Sojourn To The Past, 4117 Oak Knoll Drive, Youngstown, OH 44512. A GoFundMe account also has been set up by the family to help pay for funeral expenses. The address is www.gofundme.com/6jgrkgg. A total of nearly $6,500 had been raised as of Tuesday night. The goal is $20,000.
A fundraiser dinner also will take place from 4 to 8 p.m. Tuesday at Flambeau’s Live, 2308 Market St.