The mother of the 6-year-old girl killed in a Bayonne fire Sunday has put out a call for financial assistance.
Grieving the tragic loss of Saniya Felton, Latrice Felton has established a GoFundMe.com campaign to help cover the funeral costs and to start rebuilding her family’s lives after everything they owned was destroyed in the blaze at 438 Avenue C, near 18th Street.
“This is an extremely vulnerable and emotional time for my family and I,” Latrice Felton said on the online donation page. “I could have never imagined losing any of my children. Saniya was my only daughter — my youngest child.
“... My son and I watched the house burn down, as we stood there helpless. It goes without saying that our lives will never be the same.”
The fire in the two-story building broke out at 11:40 p.m. Sunday and Saniya was found unresponsive on the second floor by firefighters. She was taken to a local hospital and pronounced dead at 1 a.m. Monday. The cause and origin of the fire is under investigation.
The family, which is now homeless, is seeking $50,000. As of 4:30 p.m. Tuesday, more than $6,000 has been donated.
“While trying to process how my life, my son’s life, and my family and friends lives has now changed with this unimaginable loss, I am also grieving the loss of our home,” Felton said. “My son and I are currently homeless and without shelter and any other necessary possessions.
“I am asking for any donations that could assist with funeral expenses and to help us to house, feed, and cloth ourselves for the next few months as we try to navigate this tough time.”
Bayonne Mayor Jimmy Davis called Saniya’s death “an earth-shattering tragedy.” He added that Saniya, a second-grader at WIlliam Shemin Midtown Community School, “is now with the angels.”
“I am asking that everyone in Bayonne, please pray for Saniya’s mom, brother, and all her family and friends as they try to hold up during this incredibly difficult time,” Davis said in a Facebook post. “Let’s be there for them and provide all the support we can.”