Stunned residents found solace and community at a church service Sunday morning.
WARWICK -- Residents of this tiny Franklin County town gathered Sunday to share their shock, pain and grief after fire ripped through a home early Saturday, taking the lives of a mother and four young children.
The family's father and a fifth child managed to escape the blaze, which broke out around 12:45 a.m. on March 4.
Rev. Gordon Ellis, a guest minister at the Trinitarian Congregational Church, spoke to community members huddled in their hats and coats in the cold sanctuary. The church had run out of heating oil the night before. An oil delivery truck idled outside as Ellis delivered an emotional service.
"Where can we find solace at a time like this?" asked Ellis. "We can find comfort in each other, but we need more than human help. We need divine help."
Ellis spoke of a Christian God who suffers along with humanity. "A God who weeps with us can comfort us immensely," he said. The congregation sang "Amazing Grace," and Ellis bestowed blessings among those who lined up for communion.
"This is a time of tragedy," said selectman Lawrence "Doc" Pruyne to the congregation. "It is a time to be driven into the arms of those who remain. That's our community."
After the service, Pruyne said he knew the family well, because his wife taught piano to two of the daughters, as well as to the mother.
"They would come over, spend time, and listen to each others' lessons," he said. "One of the girls drew a picture for my wife, just last Wednesday. They were wonderful. Just a wonderful family."
Miryam Williamson said knows the children's father through volunteer work on a town committee.
"He's a nice guy, very smart, and a good father," she said. "He's always been absolutely devoted to his children. As a person of faith, I'm really struggling with this. In my 35 years in this town, I've never seen anything like it."
Officials with the Salvation Army, who were present at the service, said they were setting up a relief fund and had provided food and coffee to the firefighters.
Two of the deceased children attended the nearby Warwick Community School, which was open all day for grief counseling. Pioneer Valley Regional School District Superintendent Ruth Miller said support would be available for children and families.
"It's devastating for the children," said Miller. "But it's also very hard on the teachers and staff. On Monday, our job will be to go in, chin up, and make sure we have as normal a day as possible, while still acknowledging the depth of everybody's grief."
Miller said the schools are committed to in-depth engagement. "This community will be healing and struggling for a long time," she said.
Town Coordinator David Young said local volunteer firefighters responded in a valiant manner. "They got the call when they were home sleeping in bed," he said. "They were on on the scene within minutes. The house was fully engulfed. There was nothing they could do."
He said Warwick does not have town water, and that firefighters had to break through ice on a nearby pond and haul fire hoses to the house. He said a tanker truck filled with water was among the first vehicles on the scene.
Young said fire companies from surrounding communities covered Warwick for 24 hours after the fire in order to give local fire fighters a break.
"They're shocked and exhausted," he said.
Young's remarks echoed those of Warwick Fire Chief Ron Gates, who spoke while holding back tears at a Saturday press conference. "There was nothing we could have done different," said Gates. "We lost a mother and four children."
The surviving father and child were transported to a hospital in Keene with non-life-threatening injuries, officials said. The names of the victims have not yet been released by the Northwestern District Attorney's office.
The cause of the fire remains under investigation. Firefighters were told that the blaze started with a wood stove in the kitchen.