An unimaginable tragedy struck the impoverished town of Lewiston, MI, on Sunday night.
After celebrating their teenage daughter’s birthday with their three daughters in their Lewiston, MI home, Mr. and Mrs. Kritzman left their 6-year-old Annabella and her 13-year-old sister at home while they drove her boyfriend home to a neighboring community. Annabella’s oldest sister and her boyfriend do not have driver’s licenses because they are not old enough to drive.
While they were in their vehicle, Mr. and Mrs. Kritzman received the phone call no parent ever wants to get when they’re far away from home—their 13-year-old daughter was calling to tell them their house was on fire. Unfortunately, their 6-year-old daughter Annabella could not be rescued from the fire.
The family home is next door to a fire department with volunteer firefighters.
According to the Petoskey News– 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.
Annabella died at the hospital after several attempts to save her.
The elementary school where Annabella attended school will host a funeral for the family on Saturday. The family has asked that, instead of flowers, people would consider donating money to help them.
The Kritzman family is pictured below. Six-year-old Annabella, who perished due to the fire, is shown with her mother’s arm on her shoulder.
The Krtitzman family home, as well as everything inside the home, has been completely destroyed. According to people who live in the Lewiston community, both parents work for a t-shirt company in Gaylord. Everyone who knows the family says the girls are wonderful, and the parents are hard-working individuals who love their girls. To make matters worse, Annabella’s mom tragically lost her brother last week.
A GoFundMe account has been set up for the family. Please consider going here to donate: GoFundMe- for the Kritzman Family.
This is a tough economy for a lot of people, but if every person reading this article could give what they can afford, it would mean so much to a family who doesn’t have a lot and has lost their daughter and everything they own.
I appeared on Lindell TV tonight, where we talked about this awful tragedy and how grateful I am to have a voice that reaches so many good people who will help this family. I will post the clip from the interview when it’s available.
Pray for the Kritzman family.