Mom Dies After Saving 12-Year-Old Son's Life During House Fire: 'An Awesome Person All Around'
GoFundMe
A woman in Camden, New York tragically died while saving her son during a fatal house fire Monday night, local media and family said.
Brittany Jones, 35, lived at the home with her husband Aaron and their 12-year-old son, according to family members, the Daily Sentinel reported.
"The loss of a family member will never be replaced," Aaron's sibling wrote on a GoFundMe page launched by family members. "My brother lost his wife. My nephew lost his mother. She saved her son's life and made sure he got out of the house. Money is the last thing on their mind now. But they have lost everything. All they have is the clothes on their back."
Multiple local fire departments reportedly battled the blaze for several hours before it was under control. The couple's son — who was identified as Anthony on GoFundMe — was able to escape, but his mother's body was discovered inside the home, authorities confirmed to the Daily Sentinel.
As family members gathered in front of the house late Monday, they were hoping to see Brittany emerge.
"You cling to that hope that she's okay, because nobody wanted to think that she was not okay," Kayla Svereika, Brittany's sister-in-law, told CNY Central.
A first responder eventually told them Brittany didn't make it out of the home but rather spent her final moments ensuring the couple's son would survive, according to CNY Central.
"She was a force to be reckoned with, in everything she did," Svereiki told the outlet. "She didn't do something halfway — she did it all the way."
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In a statement released via Facebook on Tuesday, the Oneida County Sheriff's Office — which did not immediately return PEOPLE's request for comment — said deputies and the Camden Police Department responded to the fire around 9:45 p.m. Monday night.
"Deputies and village police arrived approximately three minutes after they heard the call and the house was fully [engulfed]," they said. "When they arrived they learned that one of the occupants may still be in the house. Fire personnel later discovered a victim believed to be an occupant of the house."
Officials said sheriff's investigators, members of the Sheriff's ID Unit and New York State Fire Investigators are working to determine the cause of the fire, which "does not appear to be suspicious."
According to CNY Central, Jones' family said they believe the fire began in the garage.
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Family friend Alexandra Hope was one of many who wrote a tribute to Jones following the tragedy.
"The love Brittany Jones had for her little family was enormous," Hope shared on Facebook. "Anytime you would see her, Anthony was with her. Not only was she an awesome mom but just an awesome person all around."
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As of Friday afternoon, the GoFundMe fundraiser has raised more than $27,000 to help the family get back on their feet.
