CLIFTON, Va. — Two young boys who were pulled from a house fire in Fairfax County last week have died, according to a social media post by the boys' father.
The fire broke out in the 13900 block of Whetstone Manor Court in Clifton around 9:30 a.m. When firefighters arrived, they found a home with heavy fire and reports of people trapped inside. Crews called for a second alarm to get more units to the scene.
Five people were taken to area hospitals, two of them in critical condition.
The two critically hurt were kids who had to be rescued by the stairs on the second floor of the house, according to 911 dispatch audio.
Zachariah Henry Brice, 3, and William Clarke Brice, 6, were trapped inside their home Wednesday morning and had to be rescued by firefighters.
The boys' father, Jamey Brice, posted the tragic news to Facebook on Monday morning saying that their heart aches for their loss. Read his full statement below:
"We are devastated by these horrific events and heart broken that we lost our amazing sons. Our prayers along with all of yours have been answered, just in a different way. It wasn’t what we picked, and we are learning to surrender and trust God more and more.
"We have peace in knowing they are both with Jesus and have heard “well done good and faithful servant.” We also have peace knowing that we got more days with them on Earth as we learned they should have been lost in the fire that day. Our heart aches because we want them here, but we have a strong hope knowing that we will see them again and will do our best to share their legacy of love, and joy and encouragement for everyone they met.
"Please continue praying and give us the space we need this week to make some very difficult decisions. We will keep everyone updated with plans after those decisions are made. We appreciate all the support, but we just need some time to be mom and dad."
WUSA9 spoke to a family friend on Monday afternoon who was emotional and says the Brice family continues to ask for prayers.
A GoFundMe that was started for the family has raised nearly $150,000 as of this writing.
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