Two small boys pulled from a house fire in Northern Virginia last week have died after several days in intensive care, leaving their family devastated, the boys' father shared.
James Brice said his youngest children, 3-year-old Zachariah and 6-year-old William, were unresponsive for 45 minutes after firefighters pulled them from their burning, smoke-filled home in the 13900 block of Whetstone Manor Court in Clifton on Wednesday morning.
William and Zachariah weren't burned, but smoke inhalation severely damaged their lungs and prevented oxygen from getting to their brains. Their father said late last week that the boys had symptoms of brain death. They underwent testing Saturday and were scheduled to have additional tests performed Sunday.
On Monday morning, Brice shared that the boys passed away Sunday.
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"We are devastated by these horrific events and heart broken that we lost our amazing sons. Our prayers along with all of yours have been answered, just in a different way," Brice wrote. "It wasn’t what we picked, and we are learning to surrender and trust God more and more."
The boys and their 8-year-old brother, Logan, were in the care of their grandparents when the fire broke out. Logan ran outside and called 911, and his grandparents tried to get to his brothers but couldn’t, neighbors said. The boys were trapped in a deadly cloud of thick smoke that damaged their lungs and brains.
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James Brice was at work — as was his wife, Reina Brice — when he learned his house was on fire with his two youngest sons were still inside. As he rushed home, he learned they had been rescued but had life-threatening injuries.
The fire marshal is investigating the cause of the fire.
The boys' grandparents visited Zachariah and William in the ICU at Children’s National Hospital the day after the fire.
"They broke down in tears,” Brice said late last week. “They wanted to be in that spot and not them. So, that was definitely one of the hardest."
Brice said the family was grateful to get more time with the boys while they were hospitalized, "as we learned they should have been lost in the fire that day."
"Our heart aches because we want them here, but we have a strong hope knowing that we will see them again and will do our best to share their legacy of love, and joy and encouragement for everyone they met," he wrote on Monday.
The community opened two donation centers for the family. The family’s church held a prayer service last week, where it accepted donations of items the family lost in the fire. In addition, an online fundraiser has raised more than $160,000, with one person commenting that the Brice family has done so much for others and there was no question now about helping them.
Late Monday afternoon, two bouquets of flowers rested in the family's front yard, where just days ago, Fairfax County Fire & EMS crews so desperately fought to save the boys' lives.
Outside, a woman who says she cut the family's hair showed up to pray. She wiped her eyes, trying to take in what the fire did to the home, the Brice family and the entire community.
The day before the boys passed, James and Reina Brice had shared a message in a video posted on Facebook.
"Just hug your kids a little bit longer, because you just never know," James Brice said.
Brice also said: "As they were being carried out of the house, the team said that there was a light around them and they were the only thing that they could see in the darkness."
And still, a light cuts through the darkness.
The family also shared a video on Facebook of Zachariah waiting for William to get off a school bus a couple of years ago.
"Hello, bubba!! Hello, bubba!!" Zachariah said.
This moment is so profound given what the family learned over the weekend: "When William and Zach were found, William was actually covering and protecting Zachariah. We knew that to be his character because that's just who he is and he, himself, is a hero," Brice said.
In the video, Zachariah clutches to William, and William's love covers Zachariah like a shield, protecting his little brother until the end.
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