An 18-year-old high school student lost his entire family in a house fire on September 6. The fire reportedly broke out in the kitchen of the Cook family’s home in upstate New York. James Cook was able to get out of the house safely, but his parents and two sisters were trapped inside.
According to WGRZ, the Eerie County Medical Examiner’s Office confirmed the identities of the four victims inside the home as Andrew Cook, 47, Kristina Kipfer, 36, Tonya Cook, 15, and Faith Cook, 12. Now, the community is pouring its support into helping James rebuild his life. Some are calling James’ survival a “miracle.”
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The fire apparently broke out overnight.
WGRZ reported that paramedic Gina Wright rushed to James Cook’s side and was with him in an ambulance around 2 a.m. as emergency crews took him to an area hospital. Wright said she did her best to calm the teen’s fears.
“We were just a few minutes outside the hospital, and he looked at me and said, ‘Hey, what am I going to do? My family’s gone,'” Wright said. “We hugged. It was a couple minutes, and I just said, ‘We got you. We got you.'”
Wright began to help James Cook immediately.
Not only did she use her skills as a paramedic to help the teenager, but she also got to work as president of the Tri-County Kiwanis Club to help gather donations for him. In addition to helping the teen start over with necessities like food, clothing, and a place to stay, the organization has raised $30,000 with the hope of helping him attend college.
“What happened was nothing short of a miracle,” Wright said. “It was hundreds of people within hours.”
The community rallied quickly.
Previty’s Auto Wrecking posted on Facebook that it wanted to help James rebuild his life.
“We wanted to give back to our community that has supported our business for over 50 years. We wanted to have a more hands on experience. Let me tell you it has been a great experience,” the post reads. “We team up with them to get word out to help wherever we can. Its amazing what a small knit community can do!”
The Pioneer school district also shared love for the Cook family.
“It is with a heavy heart that I share some very difficult details from Friday’s tragic house fire. Law enforcement has officially identified three of the four victims as Pioneer 7th grade student Faith Cook, Pioneer 10th grade student Tonya Cook, and their mother, Kristina Kipfer. Family member and fellow Pioneer student James Cook was able to escape the residence,” read a statement on Facebook by Superintendent Nicholas Silvarol.
“Our continued thoughts and prayers are with James Cook, as well as the entire Cook family, their friends, and everyone in our school community affected by this unimaginable loss” the statement continued. “Please know that counselors and support services are available for anyone who needs them, and we encourage you to reach out if you or someone you know could benefit from talking with someone. In heartbreaking times like this, we come together to support each other, offering strength, compassion, and whatever comfort we can.”
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James Cook is thankful for the outpouring of love.
The 18-year-old is overwhelmed by the support from his community. He told WGRZ he plans to pay it forward.
“I lost everything in that fire and having all this support and people bless me with things that I lost, it’s overwhelming, and I love it,” he said.
He said his family will never leave him. “Just because my family’s not here, they’ll always be here in my heart, and that’s all that matters,” James Cook said. “You only live once on this earth. I skipped death once, so I’m going to do as much as I can and give back to my community, because they gave to me.”
