As she was getting ready for her night shift at the Rite Aid distribution center in Perryman last Thursday, Joppa resident Amy Lowry briefly sat with her 11-year-old daughter Emma as she ate dinner and watched a stand-up comedienne on television.
"I asked her, 'Do you even understand what she's saying?' " Lowry said of the comic's material, which she thought might be too sophisticated for an 11-year-old.
"She said, 'It's just funny!' " Lowry recalled.
She and her daughter sat and watched the show and laughed together before Lowry headed out of the family's camper for her nightly 7 p.m. to 5 a.m. shift.
"I always give her a kiss and tell her I love her, and 'I'll see you in the morning,' and she told me the same thing," Lowry said.
They did not see each other as normal, though, the next day. A fire started near the living room as Emma was sleeping and consumed much of the 2003 Elite 42-foot fifth-wheel camper, where the family had been living for the past year.
The fire, which a person passing by saw shortly before 1 a.m., did not reach Emma's bedroom. About 25 firefighters from the Joppa-Magnolia, Aberdeen Proving Ground, Kingsville and White Marsh fire companies responded, and firefighters rescued an unconscious Emma from the camper, according to the Office of the State Fire Marshal.
She was taken to University of Maryland Upper Chesapeake Medical Center in Bel Air and then later to The Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore, in critical condition from smoke inhalation. Emma, the Lowrys' only child, later died at Hopkins.
The fire was caused by an electrical wiring failure, according to the Fire Marshal's Office.
As is routine in fire fatalities, the Fire Marshal Office's investigation of Friday's fire was assisted by the Maryland State Police Homicide Unit. Det. Sgt. Steve Hall, the homicide unit's assistant commander, said Tuesday there was no evidence of foul play and that Emma's death was the result of injuries she sustained in the fire, which was accidental.
Emma's death was the first fire-related fatality in Harford County since a man died in a fire at his home near Havre de Grace in December 2012.
Amy Lowry, 43, and her husband Ken, 48, are now homeless, but she said the couple has been overwhelmed by the outpouring of support from the community and from her daughter's classmates at Magnolia Middle School, where Emma was in the sixth grade.
"They've gone all out because they just loved her," Lowry said of the students, teachers and administrators.
She visited the school and saw that the students made cards and decorated Emma's locker.
"If a friend had a problem in school, she was there to help, to try to help them get through whatever they were getting through," Lowry said.
Jillian Lader, spokesperson for Harford County Public Schools, said Monday that school officials are "saddened as a community at this tragic and sudden loss."
"We have provided additional counseling and grief services to our students and will continue to do so," Lader continued.
Magnolia Middle Principal Melissa Mickey also issued a statement:
"Our thoughts and prayers go to Emma's family, and we as a school family will offer our support to them through this difficult time," Mickey stated.
A GoFundMe page – Lost Home & Child to Housefire Fund – has been established to raise up to $10,000 through online donations, and $2,845 had been raised as of Tuesday morning.
The family dog and cat also died in the fire, according to the introduction on the fundraising page.
Goins Auction Service, of Joppa, will host a benefit auction Feb. 19 at Grace Baptist Church, also in Joppa.
The auction begins at 6 p.m., and the community is urged to donate items for sale to raise money for the family.
Grace Baptist Church is at 1501 Stockton Road. Call 410-652-3055 for more information.
"Amy and Ken have lost everything," family friend Tina Hurley said. "They have lost their daughter, they have lost their animals, they have lost their home."
Ken Lowry is an over-the-road truck driver for Bozel Trucking, of Aberdeen. He used to be a driver for Hurley's husband, Jim, who used to operate a towing service.
Jim Hurley now operates Hurley's Golf Carts at 1114 Mountain Road South in Joppa. The Lowry's camper was on nearby property owned by Jim Hurley's mother, which also serves as storage space for school buses.
The Lowrys, who had to leave the home they were renting after Amy had to leave her job, had been living in the camper for about a year.
"They were a hard case, and they only had a fifth wheeler, and they were trying to save up money to get a home for Amy and Kenny and Emma," Tina Hurley said.
Amy Lowry took on the night shift at Rite Aid a few months ago to earn extra money toward a new family home.
"We wanted to buy a regular home for [Emma], so she could have friends over and be a normal child," she said.
While Emma was by herself Thursday night as both parents worked, her mother noted that she could go to the Hurleys' house if she had any problems and that the family dog was also with her.
"She was very smart," Lowry said of her daughter. "She was very grown and mature for her age."
Lowry and her husband have been spending nights since the fire with family and friends from Mountain Christian Church in Joppa.
A funeral and viewing will be held Saturday at Connelly Funeral Home of Dundalk at 7110 Sollers Point Road. The viewing is from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., followed by the service.
"The outpouring that this community has shown since this happened has shown me just how many people she touched," Amy said of her daughter. "That's just blown me away."