A funeral will be held today for four Manitoba children who died in a farmhouse fire.
Henry, Timmy, Danny and Bobby Froese, aged nine to 15, died Feb. 25 when they were trapped in the second floor of their family home, near the hamlet of Kane, Man.
Their parents and four other children survived the farmhouse fire in Manitoba’s Red River Valley.
Doralee Froese and seven of her children were at home when the fire started, shortly after midnight.
Doralee was able to escape from the burning house with three of the younger children.
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Jacob Froese, the father, and son Steven, 18, were at work at the time.
The two returned home and attempted to rescue the four brothers from the second story with a ladder. They couldn’t reach the children because flames were coming out of the windows.
Local fire chief Bernard Schellenberg said 20 firefighters responded to the fire. They were unable to enter the farmhouse because the building was ablaze.
The nearby community of Morris and hundreds of Canadians responded to the Froese tragedy. A church in Lowe Farm, Man., donated its rectory so that the Froese’s have a place to live. A local credit union started a support fund and Canadians have donated more than $160,000 to the cause. Other groups have collected food and clothing for the family.
Kane is about 50 km southwest of Winnipeg.
The brothers’ funeral will be held in Winkler.
Contact robert.arnason@producer.com
