Daughter says woman killed in apartment fire was an 'amazing' person

By Madison Bennett | MLive

KALAMAZOO, MI - The daughter of a woman killed by a fire Saturday at a senior citizen apartment building said she was amazed by her mother's strength in her final hours.

"She could only go from the chair to her potty, so it's amazing that she got out to the balcony," Jacqueline Slumkoski said of her mother, Barbara Posey. "She was such a strong woman, I'm amazed she got out there, I really am."

Posey, 74, of Kalamazoo, was the lone victim of a fire that broke out on the seventh-floor of the Crosstown Parkway Senior Community Apartments, 550 W. Crosstown Parkway, at around 3 a.m. Saturday. Posey, a resident there for three years, was rescued from her a seventh-floor balcony by Kalamazoo Department of Public Safety officers.

She was taken to Bronson Methodist Hospital, where she died soon after.

"They said she passed away from smoke inhalation and her heart gave out," said Slumkoski.

She said she was told her mother had multiple burns on her face but did not know whether her seventh-floor apartment was where the fire originated.

Slumkoski said Posey had multiple health issues prior to the fire.

The family is waiting for the medical examiner to release Posey's body to the funeral home, she said. Arrangements are pending at Langeland Family Funeral Homes.

Slumkoski said she has experienced several losses in her family, including her sister and her husband, but that her mother's death has been the hardest. If she couldn't visit her in person, she would talk to her mother by phone multiple times a day, she said. 

"I'm going to miss her so bad and I don't know what I'm going to do," Slumkoski said. "She was my best friend."

The family has started a GoFundMe page to help raise funds for funeral services. To donate, visit the site here. 

This post originally appeared Jan. 10, 2017 on MLive.com.