CHAFFEE COUNTY — A Buena Vista man is recovering from severe burns suffered in a house fire that claimed the lives of a woman and child.
Family member Elizabeth Prosser told News5 that John Read "may lose some fingers from the severity of the burns, but thankfully his injuries aren't life-threatening." Prosser says her nephew's daughter woke up choking on smoke, and before they knew it the house was engulfed in flames.
Around 1:30 a.m. Thursday, the Chaffee County Communications Center received a call about a structure fire about a mile north of Buena Vista, just west of Highway 24.
Multiple agencies responded, including the Chaffee County Fire Protection District, Chaffee County Sheriff’s Office, Chaffee County EMS and the Buena Vista Police Department.
When they arrived, they found a single-family home engulfed in flames. Read and Myra had escaped the home but told authorities that a Megan Reed and her son were still inside, according to the Chaffee County Sheriff’s Office.
The mother and son were pronounced dead at the scene.
Read and his daughter Myra were transported to Heart of the Rockies Regional Medical Center for treatment. From there, Read was airlifted to a regional burn center and the Myra was released to family members, the sheriff’s office said.
Prosser says her nephew is a plumber, and all of his tools were burned in the fire. "It's been a really tough these last two days, and now we're trying to scrape together what we can for him after he recovers."
Now Elizabeth has set up a GoFundMe page to help John and Myra pick up the pieces after they recover.
The cause and origin of the fire is under investigation.
