Community raising funds for family of toddler, mother killed in Mount Vernon house fire

This story first appeared in The Southern Illinoisan.

Two GoFundMe fundraisers have been set up to help cover funeral and hospital expenses for a family of three caught in a house fire last weekend.

Cody Pauling, 27, was airlifted to a burn unit in Springfield with second-degree burns on his chest, arms, legs, hands and feet as well as lung damage from the family’s house catching on fire, according to authorities and family friends.

His 18-year-old fiancée, Ashley Cheatham, and their 14-month-old son Brendon Pauling tragically were found dead inside the house on Sunday, Mount Vernon Fire Chief Kevin Sargent said.

Brandi Baltzell, a family friend of Cody Pauling, rushed to the scene as soon as she heard about the fire.

“I was looking through Facebook and saw that there was a fire. I told my husband that’s right at Cody and Ashley’s,” Baltzell said. “I insisted we go by there, I had to see if they were OK. We went around the block and there it was, it was their house, or what was left. I jumped out of the car and ran up to the cop that was standing there. I asked where they were if they were OK, he told me they had just taken Cody to the hospital and that he wasn’t in good condition. I asked where Ashley and Brendon were and he told me they didn’t make it. Of course, I was instantly sick.”

The Mount Vernon Fire Department received the call about the fire at 5:48 a.m., when firefighters were met with heavy fire, Sargent said.

The firefighters tried to breach the house looking for people inside while simultaneously trying to put out the first and prevent the neighboring house from catching fire.

Firefighters were unable to breach the house immediately because of the overwhelming heat, Sargent said.

At that time they were made aware that a man, Cody Pauling, a couple of houses down, who had severe burns, Sargent said.

He was then transferred to SSM Health Good Samaritan Hospital and airlifted to the burn unit in Springfield.

Once the fire was brought under control, firefighters were able to find Cheatham and Brendon Pauling, Sargent said.

Shortly after that, Baltzell arrived and headed home to notify the rest of her family.

Baltzell’s son, Joe David, was Cody Pauling’s best friend, Baltzell said.

David was devastated by the news.

Cody Pauling is currently incubated and in critical condition, Baltzell said.

His lungs have been scraped and his burns are starting to heal, but he will continue to be sedated until the inflammation dies down, Baltzell said.

However, Cody Pauling’s family and friends aren’t sure if he is even aware of what happened to his fiancée and child due to the sedation, Baltzell said.

As loved ones grapple with the tragedy, Baltzell’s oldest son, Myles Baltzell, started a GoFundMe for the family.

Myles Baltzell’s GoFundMe has raised $860 out of the $150,000 goal, and all money raised here will go towards helping the Pauling family.

The GoFundMe can be accessed with the following link: https://www.gofundme.com/f/praying-for-pauling?utm_campaign=p_cf+shareflow1&utm_medium=copy_link&utm_source=customer

The GoFundMe can also be found here.

A second GoFundMe has also been started to help cover the funeral expenses, and it can reached at the following link: https://www.gofundme.com/f/ashley-cheatham?utm_source=facebook&fbclid=IwAR0us2lTVKdCrhv_mhrt0bhbwXA6hLZEtURq5AxZVQ0cyySYHeqIcjoQy5o

A second GoFundMe has also been started to help cover the funeral expenses, and it can also be reached here.

The GoFundMe has currently raised $275 out of the $1,500 goal.

Donations to help cover the funeral expenses can also be made to Hughey Funeral Home, according to Cheatham’s obituary.

“Memorials may be made in Ashley’s honor to Hughey Funeral Home for funeral expenses. These donations will be accepted at Hughey Funeral Home, by phone, or online at hugheyfh.com. Please go to serves, e-pay, and type Ashley’s name in,” according to the obituary.

Brandi Baltzell asks that the public do what they can to help the family just as her sons have tried to help them.

“This young man has just lost everything and has to completely start a new life both physically and most importantly mentally,” Baltzell said. “I don’t even know how you begin to that. Ashley was an 18-year-old beautiful young woman and Brendan was a wonderful joyful happy one-year and 2-month-old happy baby boy. I guess heaven had bigger plans for them.”

The cause of the fire is still under investigation by the Illinois Fire Marshals.

This story was originally published January 21, 2022 at 10:31 AM.