Fire Takes Home Of High Schooler For Second Time, Community Helps

RICHTON PARK, IL — Flames engulfed an apartment complex last week, leaving 26 families without a home and belongings, including 16-year-old Rich Township High School Student Tamia Jackson and her family.

A devastating fire caused 26 families to lose their homes in Richton Park, IL at approximately 7:54 a.m. Friday, according to the village. Rich Township High School District 227 took care of 18 families. Seventeen families are now at the Holiday Inn in Matteson, according to the district.

The Village of Richton Park said the fire appeared to have started by a man frying chicken.

Richton Park said "mountains" of donations were received for the fire victims and from this point on, any donated clothes and toiletries should be dropped off at the Richton Park Community Center, between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. Monday-Friday.

The village reminds the public they can still:
- Donate online here
- Mail any checks or gift cards to Village of Richton Park
- Drop off any checks or gift cards at Village Hall

One of the students impacted by the fire, Tamia Jackson, is a sophomore at Rich Township. Her family has lost everything for a second time to home fires. In 2017, the Jackson family was forced to find a new place to live after another fire took their home. Just years later, the same happened again.

The school district threw Jackson a surprise birthday party on Sunday, in the cafeteria of the South campus in Richton Park. Many dropped off gift and birthday cards, wishing her the best, according to the school.

Superintendent of Rich Township School District Johnnie Thomas said that although this was a difficult time for all families involved in the fire, he was taken aback by Jackson losing her home for the second time.

"[Jackson] was the only identified student that we had that was affected by the fire," Thomas said, saying the school later found out Jackson's birthday was just days after. Thomas then said the school wanted to show Jackson they care.

"This was a great opportunity for us to show how much we care for all of our students. So we decided to make sure that party happened for her, on behalf of the district and our educational family," Thomas said. "She's family. We thought it was just a natural fit. So we opened our doors to make [sure she knew] that we support her family in a very difficult time."

Jackson said she was home at the time of the fire, getting ready for online school.

"It was just smoke ... I thought it was next door ... But once I got outside, there was smoke coming from upstairs. So everybody was making an assumption that it was on the second floor," Jackson said. "I got upset because I was thinking more of how my mom was going to feel. And this is the second time it happened ... we just lost everything."

Jackson said she didn't expect to walk into a surprise party on Sunday, when her mother took her to the high school to "get some school supplies."

"I started crying," Jackson said. "It's amazing, actually. Like, I don't think I received this much help before ... There were blue tablecloths, a big cake, jar of candy, gifts on the table ... staff was there and the board of education."

Jackson, who lives with her mother and brother, said she is grateful for the support she and her family received. Thomas said he was amazed by the amount of community support the families involved in the fire received.

"That's the kind of support and love within our community," Thomas said. "It was really heartwarming and inspiring. I think people need to know that there is still a lot of good in the world."