Hundreds gather to mourn, remember children lost in Centralia fire

Steady rain didn’t stop hundreds of people from coming together to mourn and remember three children lost in Friday’s house fire in Centralia.

Dozens of people offered hugs and condolences to the children’s father, Brad Tower, at a Saturday evening candlelight vigil at George Washington Park in Centralia.

Tower, a well-known lobbyist in Olympia, posted on Facebook earlier in the day that every decision he made in his life centered on his children.

He wrote that his children made the world a better place.

“Ben, Maddy and Sam cannot be summed up here,” Tower wrote. “ … They made this world a better place, each beautiful, intelligent, loving, and unique in such wonderful ways.”

The three children were in second, fourth and sixth grades in the Centralia School District.

He asked those wanting to help to “celebrate your families.”

Tower’s longtime friend, Teena Williams, of Puyallup, told The Chronicle that Tower is a great father.

“The children were the light of his life,” she said.

She said she learned about the fire on the news. When she heard the victims were the children of a lobbyist, she knew it was Tower’s family.

“It’s heartbreaking,” she said.

The oldest boy played football, and many of his teammates attended the vigil in their jerseys.

Napavine resident Brett Sickles said watching his son go through the pain of losing a teammate and friend is difficult. He can’t remember dealing with any similar tragedy at that young of an age.

Seeing the support for the family was uplifting, though.

“The community coming together, it’s such a beautiful thing,” Sickles said.

Chris Chavez, of Centralia, organized the candlelight vigil.

Chavez didn’t know the family or children, but after seeing people posting about the tragedy on Facebook, he asked if a vigil was going to be held.

He ended up organizing the event.

“Something needed to be done,” he said.

He said he figured 50 people would show up, not roughly 300. Many of them held their own children close and shed tears as the crowd stood largely in silence throughout the vigil.

Centralia Calvary Chapel Pastor Ben Parkin spoke. He said he cannot identify with the pain the family of the children is feeling, but that he and his wife had previously lost their own son.

“It still hurts like hell,” he said.

Parkin said those currently coping with the loss of the children should look to Jesus, and that through his death and resurrection there will one day be an end to such suffering.

“Trust him and take your sorrows to him,” Parkin said.

Many emergency responders also attended the event, with fire engines parked along Pearl Street at the edge of the park.

People at the vigil donated money to the family and left flowers and balloons.

The fire was first reported at 12:46 a.m. Friday in the 900 block of Ham Hill Road in Centralia. The only survivor of the fire was the children’s mother, Sue Tower, who had been sleeping on the first floor of the residence while Ben, Maddy and Sam slept in their second-story rooms.

When first responders arrived, the mother told them her children were still inside; the home was fully engulfed in the fire. She had tried to reach them, but was driven back by flames and smoke, according to authorities.

Centralia Police Officer Philip Weismiller injured his hand attempting to break a window to reach the children on the second floor. He’s recovering at home.

The cause of the fire is under investigation, but investigators have determined it began about 4 feet from the front door.

Lewis County Coroner Warren McLeod told The Chronicle autopsies on the victims will likely be conducted early next week.

This story was originally published March 6, 2016 at 7:18 AM with the headline "Hundreds gather to mourn, remember children lost in Centralia fire."