Just two weeks ago, 13-year-old Jerilynn Brown was celebrating the biggest victory of her life — she had beaten cancer.
But on July 4th, a tragic house fire sparked by leftover fireworks stole that hard-earned joy and took her life.
Battled bone cancer
The blaze broke out around 5:30 a.m. at the family’s farmhouse in rural Independence, Missouri, when smoldering fireworks debris ignited the back of the home.
As the crews arrived on the scene, flames were pouring out from the back of the house. Firefighters launched an intense effort to get the blaze under control.
Once the fire was extinguished, they found three people inside the home.
Jerilynn and another adult — whose name has not yet been publicly released — were both killed in the fire.
“She just rang the bell,” Jerilynn’s father, Jerry Brown, told KMBC, referencing the emotional hospital tradition marking the end of cancer treatment.
Jerilynn had battled osteosarcoma, a rare and aggressive form of bone cancer, for two years. She was finally discharged from Children’s Mercy Hospital in Kansas City in late June, and her family was just beginning to look ahead — until this devastating twist.
Smoldered for hours
Fire officials say the fireworks had been set off the night of July 3rd. Winds picked up overnight, and the embers that had quietly smoldered for hours turned deadly by morning.
“It was a breezy night,” Independence Fire Chief Jimmy Walker told KSHB.
“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.”
Adding to the tragedy, Walker confirmed that there were no working smoke detectors in the home — a haunting reminder of how crucial those devices can be.
Jerilynn’s mother, Liz Stephens, remains hospitalized in critical condition.
“She’s fighting for her life,” said Jerilynn’s stepfather, Stephen Miller.
In the wake of the tragedy, the family has created a GoFundMe page to help cover funeral and medical expenses.
”She just got me to go to church”
The fundraiser describes Jerilynn as “a bright, brave, and beautiful soul who had just overcome a long battle with cancer only two weeks prior.”
“Her strength and spirit touched everyone who knew her. To have her taken so suddenly after all she had endured is beyond heartbreaking,” the family wrote.
Jerilynn’s father, Jerry, said his daughter’s faith was unshakable — and it had a powerful impact on those around her.
“She just got me to go to church. I quit drinking, 17 months. All that is because of her,” he said.
Her stepfather, Stephen Miller, echoed that sentiment, reflecting on the strength Jerilynn carried throughout her young life.
”Unfortunately, today, she’s no longer with us,” Miller said. ”She’s free.”
We’re sending all our love, strength, and deepest sympathies to Jerilynn’s family.
Such an unimaginable tragedy, coming just as she had finally beaten cancer.
Let this be a reminder this summer: fireworks can smolder long after the show is over — and change lives forever.
And Please take a moment to check your smoke detectors at home — make sure they work, have batteries, and are properly placed. They can save lives.
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