In an effort to salvage some meaning out of tragedy, the family of a 16-year-old special education student who died in a house fire donated some of his organs to patients in need of transplants.

Family members believe the decision would have touched the teen, Edward Miller III, whose father died two years ago while awaiting a liver transplant.

"He's helping somebody else live," said April Ladd, Miller's cousin, who lives in Canoga Park. "That's the thing he would have really wanted to do."

The Reseda High School sophomore died Sept. 18, along with his three beloved dogs, when fire swept through the rented Saticoy Street home where he lived with his unemployed mother...read more