Monday, March 17th 2025, 8:38 am
Friday’s wildfire in Norman burned down Courtney Chojnacki's home, where she and her husband were raising their 9-year-old autistic grandson, Collin.
“I am in shock. I’m devastated,” Chojnacki said.
As she walks through the rubble that used to be her family’s generational home, she reflects on the memories of her late son-in-law.
“Colin’s father was Jeremy McCain. He was an Oklahoma County Sheriff's Deputy school resource officer with Oklahoma Christian Schools.”
It’s a story that captured Oklahomans' hearts two years ago.
The beloved single father died at 36 years old after a gate struck his deputy cruiser in March of 2023.
Hundreds attended his funeral after a hard-fought ten days in the hospital.
McCain is seen in a viral photo clutching his son's favorite toy.
Chojnacki shared that the toy burned along with the rest of the family’s belongings in the March 2025 fire, exactly two years after Deputy McCain’s death.
“There’s nothing to save,” she said, looking out over the burnt remains of her home.
9-year-old Collin and his family are now navigating a whole new kind of loss.
“The last picture I have of Jeremy was here on the driveway when he was picking up Collin,” Chojnacki said, standing in her driveway. “I don’t know that there’s a word to describe the shock, the pain.”
Chojnacki says she's focused on taking care of Collin, who has now lost his father and his safe place.
“When you have someone who has autism and they are so routine regimented, going out of that routine can cause frustration,” she said.
Similar to the community response after Deputy McCain's accident, support is already flooding in for Collin as his family navigates how to move forward.
“Whatever he needs. It’s about him, this is all about him,” Chojnacki said.
If you’d like to support Collin and his family, click here to donate.
Cameron Joiner joined the News 9 team as a Multimedia Journalist in January of 2023. Cameron was born and raised in Sugar Land, Texas, just outside of Houston. Though she is a Texan at heart she has fallen in love with Oklahoma. She came to the Sooner State to attend OU, where she majored in Broadcast Journalism.
March 17th, 2025
March 15th, 2025
March 17th, 2025
March 17th, 2025