A fundraiser created for the mother of three children killed in an apartment fire in southwest Atlanta this week has nearly reached its goal in one day.
A GoFundMe page identified Jahda White, 26, as the mother of 4-year-old Jhacari, 1-year-old Xyla and 9-month-old Xhalia, all of whom died after being taken to a hospital Wednesday for smoke inhalation. The fundraiser, which was verified by GoFundMe, was arranged Thursday afternoon by anonymous benefactors under the title Patient Access.
The effort has raised just over $28,000 toward its $30,000 goal in less than 24 hours.
A spokeswoman for Emory Healthcare confirmed to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution that White is one of their employees.
“We are aware of this tragic event and our hearts and prayers go out to our employee and the family during this difficult time. We are respecting their need for privacy,” the spokeswoman said.
The fire was reported at around 3 p.m. Wednesday at the Country Oaks apartment complex in Atlanta’s Fairburn Mays neighborhood. An Atlanta fire spokesman said the children and their father were helped out of the unit by a neighbor before firefighters arrived.
They were taken to Grady Memorial Hospital, where the children were pronounced dead, the fire spokesman said. The neighbor refused medical transport. Officials have not provided an update on the father’s condition, and he has not been publicly identified.
The Country Oaks property is among 272 of the metro area’s persistently dangerous complexes, according to the AJC’s “Dangerous Dwellings” investigation that looked into serious crimes, lax maintenance and other hazards in Atlanta neighborhoods.
This was the second fire to happen at the complex within the past year. In July, 12 units were damaged when a building went up in flames. No one was injured.
Credit: Ben Hendren
Credit: Ben Hendren
The organizers of the fundraiser for White have not responded to requests for comment from the AJC.
— Staff writer Caroline Silva contributed to this article.
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