RIVERDALE, Utah — On Saturday, dozens of community members flooded one Riverdale church to support the Bird family.
In the crowd, you could find family friend Brooke Edwards.
"My husband and I woke up to the sirens, so we actually ran down and were there while it was happening," she said, "It's just hard to imagine. I mean, I saw with my own eyes the immediate reactions and things, and it's just, it's unfathomable.”
On Thursday just before 2 a.m., first responders found the Bird family's home engulfed in flames, with people trapped inside. The father and his three children were killed, while the mother and the three remaining children now have to go on without half of their family.
WATCH | Community holds fundraiser for Riverdale family impacted by deadly house fire
“How she's been as a mother's been an example to me, and it just breaks my heart to know what she's going through. I mean, none of us can really fathom that, but she's just, she's so strong," Edwards said.
Brittney Dawson knew she had to do something when she saw a Facebook comment.
“A woman who had survived a house fire said, "I've been through this. I've survived this, and my advice to all of you who want to do something is to not offer, but to act, and that helped spark this idea to put together a donation drive for them," Dawson said.
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Neighbors from all over showed up with clothes, blankets, canned goods and even wrote heartfelt cards for the family.
“I think we're all going through a lot of shock, and we all have a lot of love and sympathy to know that it's somebody that is so close to us. It could have been us. It could have been a neighbor, and that hits close to home," Dawson said.
While it was moving to see how many people showed up, it was not surprising for their small town.
“We love and support each other, and whatever that looks like moving forward in a week, in a month, in a year, five years, they're just still going to be here to help one day at a time," Edwards said.
Donations can be made to:
Family Memorial Account
# 746009136425
America First Credit Union
Those transferring funds from an America First Credit Union account should use: Savings
9136425