Jerilynn Brown was on the road to recovery following a long and hard fight with bone cancer. The 13-year-old rang the bell at Children’s Mercy Hospital in Kansas City, Missouri, in late June 2025, and headed back a short distance to her home in Independence. However, on July 4, tragedy struck the Brown family in a way they never could have anticipated. Fireworks smoldered and caused a tremendous house fire that killed Jerilynn. Tragically, it appears the family had no warning the fire had erupted.
Independence Fire Chief Jimmy Walker told KSHB that the home had smoke detectors, but none of them was working at the time of the fire.
“This is a great opportunity to not only educate people on general fireworks safety, but you want to make sure that everyone has working smoke detectors in their homes,” Walker said.
In addition to Jerilynn, Marc Anthony Young Sr. also perished in the fire. Jerilynn’s mom, Liz Stephens, received serious burns and remains hospitalized.
Walker said fireworks pose a danger long after they explode in the sky.
“It was a breezy night,” he said. “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.”
The chief added that even though he cannot be certain what could have happened that night, he believes working smoke detectors are essential for every home.
“I can’t say for sure that a smoke detector would’ve saved lives in this instance. But what I can say is that it wouldn’t hurt,” he said, adding that “every fatality we’ve had this year has been the result of no working smoke detectors and the structures they were killed in.”
Karleigh Burnett created a GoFundMe account to help Jerilynn’s family during this unimaginably difficult time.
“A devastating house fire destroyed their home, taking with it everything they owned—and most heartbreakingly, their 13-year-old daughter, Jerrilynn Brown,” Burnett wrote on the page. “Jerrilynn was 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.”
They’ve raised nearly $9,000 thus far.
