Child killed in Lewiston house fire, community collects donations for family
LEWISTON — A fire that ripped through a Lewiston home on the night of Jan. 29 and left a 6-year-old girl dead remains under investigation.
Brock Baum, the assistant fire chief for the Albert Township Fire Department, said his department responded to a fire at a home on Salling Avenue in Lewiston. A 13-year-old girl was inside along with her 6-year-old sister. The teenager was able to get out, but the 6-year-old, Annabella Kritzman, was found inside the home.
Baum said the parents were not in the home at the time of the fire.
Baum said the fire department is located next to the home and when the volunteer firefighters arrived on the scene they learned that the 6-year-old was in the home. Firefighters immediately entered the residence and found the girl.
The firefighters immediately started to perform life-saving measures on the girl, who was then transported to Munson Otsego Memorial Hospital in Gaylord.
"From the initial time of the first dispatch for this fire and the time the six-year-old was rescued from the home, it was 12 to 13 minutes," said Baum.
He said a burning candle in the home is believed to have started the blaze.
The victim was a first grade student who attended Lewiston Elementary School, according to Superintendent Katy Xenakis-Makowski of the Johannesburg-Lewiston Area Schools (JLAS).
"It is a very tragic time. We are all devastated and our small community is pulling together in a big way to support each other and the family," said Xenakis-Makowski. "JLAS was fortunate to receive extensive support to help our students and families. We received notification early Monday from the Montmorency (County) Sheriff's office and were able to get additional social work and counseling supports in place that morning through partnerships with our ESD (Educational Service District) and Thunder Bay Community Health. We have ongoing support in place for our students, their families and our staff."
The district will sponsor a "hat and/or PJ Day" on Feb. 3 in which proceeds will go to the Kritzman family. Checks can be written to The Kritzman Family and mailed to: The Kritzman Family, c/o JLAS, PO Box 69, Johannesburg, MI 49751. There is also a GoFundMe established in the Kritzman family name.
"At this time, the district is collecting cash and gift cards for the family," the district said on its website. "These items can be dropped off at any of the district offices through the next week."
According to Annabella's obituary, a memorial service will be held at 4 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 4, with visitation beginning at 3:30 p.m. at Lewiston Elementary School.
In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to the family to assist with expenses. A donation account is being opened and the information will be posted as it is available.
— Contact Paul Welitzkin at pwelitzkin@gaylordheraldtimes.com.
This article originally appeared on The Petoskey News-Review: Child killed in Lewiston house fire, community collects donations for family
