Philadelphia Elementary School Community Mourning Death Of 2 Current, 3 Former Students Killed In Fairmount Fire
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- The deadly fire in Fairmount is hitting one neighborhood school particularly hard. They lost two students in the blaze and three former students.
Now, the School District of Philadelphia is making sure the school community and the families of the victims, get the assistance they need.
Heartfelt handwritten signs of love and support from some of the youngest students at Bache-Martin Elementary School.
The school community is grieving the loss of two of its students who were killed in a devastating row house fire in Fairmount Wednesday morning. The fast-moving blaze claimed 12 lives -- eight of them children.
We're also learning that three of the other children killed were former students of Bache-Martin. Grief counselors are on hand to help students deal with the devastating loss.
"We do have counselors who are here in the school who are working with the students remotely and I even overheard a conversation, just a class of students talking about their feelings and the children feel comfortable sharing their feelings even remotely," School District of Philadelphia spokesperson Monica Lewis said.
School officials are also working with City Council President Darrell Clark to launch a fund that will help all of those impacted by the tragedy.
"Two bags with clothes and one with sneakers for some of the boys," one woman said.
Bache-Martin school is currently in virtual learning. The building has now been transformed into a hub for city and federal officials investigating the deadly fire.
It's also a place where the Red Cross is accepting donations for the fire victims. Tracy Cropper made it her mission to contribute.
"When you have family it can happen to any of us. We have to be mindful that we need to check our smoke detectors, we need to be mindful of our children," Cropper said.
So many children lost, so many children now left to deal with the heavy burden of grief.
If you'd like to donate to the fire victims, click here.
