HARTLAND, Wis. — After grappling with the loss of six lives in an apartment fire, Hartland residents gathered in an impromptu vigil Friday night to rally around those who need help.
Dozens gathered in nearby Nixon Park to pray and show support toward those affected by Friday morning’s tragic fire.
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Arrowhead High School students Andrea Johnson and Charolette Riege were at the vigil. They told TMJ4 they were close friends of one of the victims in the fire and still can't believe what happened is real.
“I didn’t know how to feel,” said Johnson. “I didn’t think it was real, I didn’t want to believe it.”
Johnson was at school when she heard the fire in their community was near her friend’s home.
“I was like, she kind of lives over there but I didn’t really think much of it,” she said. “Then I wasn’t hearing back from her. I found out in my social studies class.”
What she found out was, in her words, a nightmare come true. Her close friend who wasn’t answering was killed in the fire.
Riege found out alongside Johnson.
“I feel like I’m stuck in a dream that just keeps replaying over and over again,” Riege told TMJ4.
“We all went down to the office and they all knew already so they put us into a room and we kind of just all cried for hours.”
Both girls remember their friend who passed as a joyful person who loved helping others.
Riege describes her as, “Someone who was always there for you. She was the sun in the day, very bright and warming.”
They joined dozens of others in Friday night’s vigil to honor their friend and the other five lives lost in Friday’s deadly fire.
David Grevenkamp, a teacher at North Shore Middle School, led the vigil in prayer.
“I’m still in shock a little bit,” said Grevenkamp. “I know that the way I process grief, it’s going to be a day, maybe two days, and Monday’s going to be a hard day.”
Grevenkamp emphasizes that as the community grieves they will also be there to support.
Community members are already setting up fundraisers to help the families who lost their homes in the fire.
You can donate to oneGo Fund Me here.
