Community mourns family lost in fire

GLOUCESTER, Va. (WAVY) - Friday evening, friends and family filled a small parking lot to remember three boys and their grandmother who died in a Gloucester house fire.

Thomas, 7, Michael, 2, and 6-month-old Gabriel died in a fire at their home on Summerville Drive earlier this week. Their grandmother, Virginia Grogan, tried to rescue the boys from their bedrooms but never came back out.

Those who knew the Grogans gathered off George Washington Memorial Highway Friday evening to grieve together as a community.

"One word sums it up - sorrow," family friend Crystal Bowman said.

Friends told WAVY.com Virginia Grogan was an Air Force veteran and a motherly figure to many people in the area.

"It's the start of a process that's going to take an eternity to fix," Bowman said.

The crowd held candles and sang songs in remembrance of the lost family members. 

"I am so blessed that God has given me four children and I have my children with me," Bowman said. "[The Grogans] don't [have that]. That's a hard pill to swallow and I love my kids to no end, but that's very difficult."

The community wants to help the Grogans heal, but also wants to help them recover. The boys' parents not only lost their family members but everything they owned in the fire.

There are two memorial accounts set up for the family. 

One is at BB&T Bank in the name of "Thomas Grogan." 

The other fund is at Wells Fargo under "the Grogan family donation fund."