GENESEE TOWNSHIP, P.A. (WKBW) — Several community members of Genesee Township in Northern Pennsylvania are coming together to support families suffering in the aftermath of a house fire.
The Northern Potter High School staff members are one of many who are getting together to raise money to help the Erway Family.
"The whole family is involved in the FFA. Charlie is our alumni president, so we thought it'd be a good idea to host a Chinese auction," says Lacy Miles, a teacher at Northern Potter High School.
Lacy and Kendra Miles are mentors and supervisors with the Future Farmers of America Organization(FFA).
The group is raising money to help the Erway Family.
"It's donations of any kind. It can be gift certificates, baskets, food baskets, meat baskets, there are services massage parlors," Miles says.
This initiative comes after a fire killed five teens and severely injured two adults early Monday morning in Genesee Township in Northern Pennsylvania.
17-year-old Raymond Erway and his two brothers, 16-year-old Tristan and 14-year-old Evan, lost their lives.
"Raymond was going to go to tech. He did our tractor driving program. Very involved, kiddo," the supervisor of FFA says. "The next one in line, Tristan, was getting into public speaking, a great kid, and has an awesome personality. Evan was in 8th grade, and he was starting to get more involved in the FAA. So far as I'm concerned, they were very involved in our FAA chapter."
The boys' parents are being treated in the burn unit at Strong Memorial Hospital in Rochester.
"We don't know their condition right now, but we know they have a long road ahead of them for recovery," says Kendra Miles, a chaperone of the FFA chapter.
Two 16-year-old girls who were staying at home were also killed.
Krysta Kane attended Scio Central School, and Mikalah Roulo attended Wellsville Central Schools.
Krysta's obituary says she loved the outdoors, was a member of the 4-H club at her school and enjoyed horseback riding.
Mikalah's obituary says the Wellsville teen was also involved with 4-H, enjoyed bowling, and was a music lover.
The auction for the Erway family will be held at the Northern Potter High School on April 24th.
"Being in a small community, it hits home with everybody involved, and we have to stick together and lean on one another to get through it," says Lacy Miles, a teacher at Northern Potter High School.
