In the late hours of April 5, 2003, a fire tore through a small home at the end of a quiet dead-end street on H Avenue Northeast in Cedar Rapids. By the time the flames were extinguished, a father and his young daughter were fighting for their lives. Both would be dead within days.
Jay Ernest Grahlman, 38, and his six-year-old daughter, Jaymie Chantelle Grahlman, suffered severe injuries in the blaze. Jaymie was removed from life support the following night, April 6. Jay died three days later from complications related to extensive burns.
Several others were inside the home when the fire started, including Grahlman’s girlfriend, Vickie Reed, her two daughters, and Grahlman’s three-year-old daughter. All survived without serious injury…