Fundraiser opens for mom who lost 3 children in NC house fire; vigil Friday in Concord
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Deadly house fire kills 3 siblings
The fire broke out overnight Aug. 20, killing all three children inside the home in Concord, N.C.
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Following the Concord house fire that killed three siblings, a family friend has set up a GoFundMe page.
“Please help this mother bury her children,” Latresha Robinson wrote.
Robinson launched the fundraiser Monday after Emmanuelle Kueviakoe, 11, Stephen Kueviakoe, 15, and Daniella Kueviakoe, 16, died in the home — which is owned and maintained by the city — just after 1 a.m. Sunday.
Iredell Emergency Management is still determining what caused the flames, but neighbors are more concerned they didn’t hear any fire alarms.
Any time a fire alarm sounds, neighbor Tyeshia Lyles, 33, and her three children hear it. The sound travels whether it’s coming from next door or the other side of the playground that sits in the middle of Chapman Homes’ 174 units, she said.
City spokesperson Lindsay Manson said the smoke detectors worked the last time the devices were tested in January. But a slew of issues have long-existed in the community, neighbors said and records from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development confirmed.
Chapman’s homes barely passed its 2016 Real Estate Assessment Center inspection — which checks the community’s site, building exteriors, building systems, common areas and units — with a 60 out of 100 score. That’s 22.4 points worse than the average for North Carolina, according to ProPublica’s 2019 “HUD House of Cards” project.
Cristiano Gray, a neighbor who barged into the smoke-filled unit before calling 911, didn’t realize how important working smoke detectors — a rarity in the neighborhood — were until Sunday.
“You realize ... how many people would still be here right now if that one little sound would have went off,” the 17-year-old said.
The children who died in the Concord, NC fire
The fundraiser, titled “Children Who Died In Fire From Lincoln Community,” had raised more than $8,600 by 2 p.m. Wednesday.
“[The Kueviakoe family’s] bond was unbreakable as a family, and their presence will forever be missed by all who knew and loved them,” Robinson wrote in a Facebook post that shared the fundraiser page and introduced the public to the children.
Daniella, the oldest, was “known for her infectious laughter and unwavering positivity.”
Stephen, born in between his two sisters, was a “pillar of strength and love within his family.”
Emmanuelle’s “insatiable curiosity and boundless energy made each day an adventure and her innocent spirit reminded everyone of life’s simple wonders.”
The city partnered with Grace Lutheran Church and is encouraging people who wish to donate or offer support to contact the Rev. Donald Anthony at 704-701-7167.
Concord and the Logan community will host a prayer vigil in the city’s Housing Department’s courtyard at 283 Harold Goodman Circle SW, on Friday, Aug. 25, at 5:30 p.m.
This story was originally published August 23, 2023 at 2:06 PM with the headline "Fundraiser opens for mom who lost 3 children in NC house fire; vigil Friday in Concord ."
