Photo via Go Fund Me
An outpouring of sympathy and support quickly surfaced following a house fire in Houston killed three siblings and their grandmother.
Two separate Go fund Me pages to honor the children raised more than $400,000 in a matter of days.
The Houston Chronicle reports the family may have been trying to stay warm using a fireplace after losing power in an intense winter storm that paralyzed Texas.
The mother of the children suffered burn injuries.
Authorities identified the children as Colette (5), Edison (8), and Olivia (11) Nguyen. The children’s 75-year-old grandmother also died.
“Obviously they were trying to stay warm,” Adolph said. “We can’t say that’s what the cause was, we just think we know they were using a fireplace.” Doug Adolph of the Sugar Land Fire Department said to the Chronicle.
Fox 26 reports firefighters had to restrain the mother from going back into the home.
One Go Fund Me fundraiser which has so far raised more than $250,000 will go toward establishing a foundation for causes that meant a lot to the children- performing and visual arts, autism awareness and reading and literacy.
The other fund which so far totals more than $150,000 will be used for a foundation to support tuition assistance at St. Laurence Catholic Grammar School and for fire safety education.
“Our hearts are broken right now,” wrote Jackie Pham Nguyen. “However, your acts of kindness have given us some comfort to pull us through. We are forever grateful to you all.”
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