KILL DEVIL HILLS, N.C. — Family members of those injured say a house fire in Kill Devil Hills never should have happened.
It has been nearly two weeks since the fire killed three people and injured three others. Officials are still investigating the cause. Now, the daughter of one of those injured shares more about her dad, Dave Brewer, as he recovers.
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Dave is a musician.
"[He] deeply cares about his community and empowering people, especially children, through music," said Dave's daughter Rachel Toussaint.
Rachel said Dave teaches music to kids, performs in his community and loves his family.
"And I get to see him play songs on the guitar for my kids," smiled Rachel. "The same things he used to play for me."
Dave lives in Maryland, but for the time being, he is at a hospital in Norfolk, where he is being treated for severe burns after the house he was staying in on vacation caught on fire.
Rachel said the family rented that home for vacations for many years. She stayed in and visited the home but wasn't there during the fire.
"I got the call Friday evening from my mom and my aunt, and they said my dad was in a really bad fire when he was in North Carolina, and he had been airlifted to a hospital in Virginia," said Rachel. "I wanted to jump up and I was like, 'where do I go?'"
Dave, his girlfriend Laura Volk, and Laura's daughter, 16-year-old Sadie Farr, were injured in the blaze.
"Alarms went off, they woke up and the house was already engulfed in flames," said Rachel. "You know, every room they went into, the fire was bigger than the room they were just in."
Three others— Laura's 13-year-old daughter Sienna Farr, Dave's friend William Deeg, and William's wife Colleen Cohan— did not make it out of the home.
"The loss is just so great," said Rachel. "And my heart just breaks with theirs. This should have never happened. My dad was robbed of a period of time in his life, but I know others' losses were far greater. I just want them to know I see their pain. I feel it with them."
The grief is palpable.
In the face of tragedy, however, community members are offering words of support to those involved in the fire, including, as his students call him, "Mr. Dave."
"My dad really is loved," said Rachel. "He's cared for his community for so long, and I think now they just want to return that when he's in a place of crisis."
Rachel was able to visit her father and said healing is going to be a long road, emotionally and physically.
She hopes during recovery her dad will be able to find joy in music once again.
Dave's expected to make a full recovery after many more months of surgeries and treatment.
16-year-old Sadie Farr was treated and released, officials reported. There is no update available yet on Laura Volk's condition, but early on, officials reported she had been stabilized.
Rachel started a GoFundMe for her father. She also created a CaringBridgefor updates on his condition.
The Volk family created a GoFundMe in memory of Sienna Farr.
