A devoted father of four was one of two people who lost their lives on May 18 after a massive blaze erupted in Charlotte, North Carolina. According to the New York Post, 30-year-old Demonte Sherrill was working at a construction site in an upscale neighborhood known as SouthPark when the fire broke out, but was unable to make his way out of the building alive.
Now the local community is coming together to remember the kind-hearted dad and do what they can to support his grieving family.
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At the time of his death, Sherrill was working on the building's sixth floor
He and other crew members were working to complete the partially built structure, which was intended to be a luxury apartment building near the popular SouthPark Mall. But according to the Charlotte Observer, the flames grew intense so quickly that Demonte and a fellow coworker, 38-year-old Reuben Holmes, became trapped and were unable to escape.
The Charlotte Fire Department raced to the scene, but ultimately had to call a "Mayday" once they reached the same floor Sherrill and Holmes were trapped on due to limited visibility.
While the two men waited to be rescued, Sherrill tried to call for help
Using the only thing he had at the time, his cell phone, the father of four pulled up his Facebook app and started filming a Facebook Live from inside the building.
Sadly, those are the final images that Sherrill's mother, Onita, would ever see of her son while he was still alive.
The grieving mother later told WSOC that she was watching the Facebook Live video in shock, not realizing these were about to be her son's final moments.
"I was hoping [he would make it out alive], but just from the — and the way the room filled up with smoke — I didn’t see it being any hope at that time,” Onita recalled. "I’m still in shock. Numb really. Numb about the whole situation."
Sherrill's father, Terry Campbell, rushed to the scene as soon as he heard
Campbell told WSOC that once Onita told him about the fire, he hopped in his car and drove to SouthPark. But once he got there, the dad was confronted by a devastating scene.
"Went to the scene and all the smoke… I mean, I couldn't watch — I couldn’t watch it," Campbell told the outlet. "Then I got in contact with his boss man and that’s when his boss let me know it was him."
Sherrill's boss has since been identified as Keith Suggs
Suggs, who works with the Atlanta-based company Prestige Windows and Doors, told reporters that it was only the father's third day on the job and that he first heard about the fire around 9 a.m. that morning when Holmes called him in a panic.
"He told me he was on the sixth floor, the building was on fire, and he couldn’t get out," Suggs told the Charlotte Observer.
More than 90 firefighters responded to the five-alarm fire
While it took several hours to extinguish the blaze, the flames were said to be out by noon. In the meantime, other workers at the site were able to escape unharmed, and first responders were able to rescue 15 others who were trapped inside.
However, Sherrill and Holmes reportedly remained missing until the following morning when they were recovered in the wreckage and officially identified.
After a thorough investigation, Charlotte Fire Chief Reginald Johnson later announced that the fire was ruled accidental and apparently began in a spray insulation foam trailer that was located on the ground floor of the construction site. The flames themselves were fueled by stacks of wood that were located on the construction site, bringing the fire to scorching temperatures that rose above 2,000 degrees.
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Sherrill's family remains in shock over the sudden and heartbreaking loss
"He was a good man, a loving father," his mother told reporters. She also described him as a "caring person" who "just wanted to be with his children, his family."
Sherrill leaves behind four children, ages 5 to 13.
"He got that job, and he was doing real good at it, so I was very, very proud of him," the man's father recalled.
The local community is now coming together with two separate GoFundMe campaigns to help support Sherrill's family in the days ahead.
One of the campaigns, started by Sherrill's aunt, Taclisha Grier, has already raised $19,815 for the man's family. Another, started by Charlotte councilman Tariq Scott Bokhari, just surpassed $3,000.
"Your generous donations will contribute towards providing stability, education, and a secure future for these young children who are now left without their father," Bokhari's GoFundMe campaign reads. "Together, we can offer solace and hope during their time of need."
