Nearly a week after four young children were killed in a house fire on Tuesday night in Somers, the town says it has collected over $48,000 in donations to the Angel Fund.
The donations were made in cash, credit card and through fundraisers like "Somers Strong" t-shirts, ornaments and restaurant fundraisers.
The outpouring of community support continues as investigators work to determine the cause of the fire.
Fire Chief John Roache said it could take weeks, but in the meantime, footage from neighbors has helped them piece together how the fire spread so quickly.
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“What has helped is that we’ve gotten some video, security cameras, things like that," Roache said. "It validated some of what we thought we saw, where the fire might have started, but it also validated just how fast that fire grew, and how, unfortunately, it was just to the point where it was not tenable for the victims inside the house, even before the first fire truck got there."
The chief said crews arrived within five minutes of the first call, but were still met with intense flames.
“It just shows the fire starts in the corner, then very quickly, literally that first floor living room has got fire blowing out the front door, both windows, the side window," he continues, "lapping right up the front of the house. We were behind the 8-ball starting off, even before we got there.”
According to an obituary, one of the children alerted his siblings of the fire, and "saved lives that night."
On Monday night from 6 to 8 p.m., the Somers Congregational UCC is holding a prayer space for the community to mourn, reflect on the lives lost and support one another.
"We’ve invited folks from our town here in Somers and the surrounding communities. They’re invited to come here, we’re gonna hold our space open here in this sanctuary, and we’re gonna have a community prayer space," pastor Scott Spence said. “It’s an opportunity for folks to come, to be community, to grieve, to mourn, to comfort one another and to pray.”
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