‘They’re making a difference’: KC neighbors rally around family after devastating fire

Shawnna Kroeger woke up early Sunday to a neighbor pounding on her door and a fire tearing through the home of her neighbors and close friends. Before she could tell a 911 operator her location, she heard sirens rushing down her cul-de-sac in Kansas City’s Northland.

Once crews had responded to the fire around 2:40 a.m., Kroeger said she and other neighbors stepped in. Their group chats blew up with questions of how to help the Fazels, a family of six who were frequent attendees at parties and get-togethers in their cul-de-sac in the 8300 block of Northeast 103rd Terrace.

Andy and Ashley Fazel and three of their children escaped the fire and were hospitalized for evaluation of potential injuries and smoke inhalation. Crews searched for their oldest daughter, 17-year-old Sophie, but later found her dead in the basement.

On doorbell camera footage of the fire, Kroeger said she saw the fire start at the back of the home and engulf the whole structure in less than 10 minutes. She heard multiple firefighters say it was the hottest fire they’d ever dealt with.

“It was just terrifying to witness,” Kroeger said, “and I can’t imagine how my friends felt going through it.”

To help their friends, Kroeger and fellow neighbor Kelly Hurt gathered a list of the family’s sizes and needs and started collecting clothing, shoes, toys and gift cards from fellow neighbors. A meal train Kroeger created Monday has filled up for the next month and a half.

Liberty North High School, where Sophie attended, is collecting gift cards for groceries and gas, and Cycle of Heart, a fitness studio in Liberty, is hosting a fundraiser ride on Saturday with all the proceeds going to benefit the Fazels, Hurt said.

Since Andy owns his own small business, Fazel Plumbing LLC, on top of a full-time job, Hurt said other local businesses are putting together efforts to help the family, too.

Kroeger and Hurt also started a GoFundMe that has raised more than $155,000 to help the Fazels pay for medical bills and other unexpected expenses.

“The communities around us in the Kansas City area need to know what the support means to not just the Fazel family but to everybody around it,” Hurt said. “It brings hope in this world that there are still wonderful, good, giving people out there, and they’re making a difference.”

On Monday, Hurt delivered some of the clothes and toys donated by neighbors so far to the family members who have been released from the hospital. The family was overjoyed to receive the donations, she said.

“It just brought so many smiles to everybody’s face that was there,” Hurt said. “It just brought so much joy and happiness to this awful time.”

A neighborhood connected

As they all moved into their new homes around 10 years ago, families in the cul-de-sac gravitated to each other, Kroeger said. She hosts movie nights in her driveway, and the street celebrates together at pool parties and for Christmas and Halloween. The families watch each others’ kids and bring gifts and food when their fellow neighbors are hurting.

Lots of the families had young kids who played together. If someone needed their kids home at a certain time, they messaged the cul-de-sac group chat and asked whoever was with their children to send them back.

Andy Fazel and two of his children are staying with family, while Ashley Fazel and one of their four-year-old sons remain in the ICU on ventilators.

As of Monday afternoon, Ashley did well in her first breathing trial. She stayed on a breathing machine overnight and had another trial Tuesday, Kroeger wrote on GoFundMe.

Spencer, one of the 4-year-old boys, has a lung injury, and doctors are working to remove secretions, Kroeger wrote. He also remains on a breathing tube.

Both Ashley and Spencer are making progress toward healing, Kroeger told The Star.

Kroeger said that Sophie, the Fazels’ eldest child, loved to spend time with her son, drawing with chalk on the sidewalk or playing with Hot Wheels outside. When Sophie was younger, she referred to all the adults in the cul-de-sac as mom and dad and would ride her scooter to each house to talk with all the neighbors about their day.

“She was just so precious,” Kroeger said. “When I say everybody loved Sophie, everybody did. We all had extra eyes out for Sophie and just loved her like she was one of her own.”

In November, the cul-de-sac had just celebrated Sophie’s birthday at the Fazels’ home, like they do for all their neighbors, Hurt said. The family plans to have a memorial service for Sophie once everyone has been released from the hospital.

The Fazels are a kind and hardworking family, who always do what they can for others, Kroeger said. If neighbors had a plumbing issue, Andy would come at any time of day to help, and Ashley, a talented cook, makes extra portions of meals for her neighbors, Kroeger said.

If the roles were reversed and their families had dealt with tragedy, Kroeger and Hurt said the Fazels would take the time to organize the same fundraising efforts for them.

“They’re not just my neighbors,” Hurt said, “They’re my family.”

Police continue to investigate the cause of the fire.