Local

Community support pours in after 7-year-old critically injured in house fire

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — A pile of charred furniture still sits outside an apartment where Katlyn Cook, 7, was severely burned in Charlotte’s NoDa area.

Katlyn was badly burned during a fire at her home on east 36th Street earlier this week.

She is currently in a Winston-Salem burn unit in critical condition.

The community is coming together to help Katlyn’s family.

John Stefano, a neighbor, watched the aftermath from a block away three days ago but has found himself in close contact with Katlyn's family.

"I have two kids myself, and it's just, I couldn't imagine what that parent was going through," Stefano said.

Stefano credits his neighbors and local businesses for helping raise several thousand dollars, but he took the first step and is working with Charlotte Firefighters' Burned Children Fund organize more fundraising.

"On top of not having a place to live or not even having a toothbrush or toothpaste, they have to worry about their 7-year-old daughter," he said.

The family lost everything, including their car keys, wallets and social security cards.

The material things can be replaced, but there are also medical bills and Katlyn’s difficult recovery.

"The girl, she's not out of the woods yet. She’s in critical care. So she's going to be, it's going to be surgeries and in the hospital for at least the next two months," Stefano said.

On Sunday at 1 p.m., Stefano said neighbors and firefighters will cook out at the NoDa Company Store.

They hope to raise even more money, not just for Katlyn’s family, but for at least one other family also displaced by the fire.

Firefighters said they would have more details on Friday about how the fire started.