Vigil held to honor victims of Watertown home fire

WATERTOWN, Wis. (WMTV) - A candlelight vigil was held Monday night to honor the lives of three individuals who died in a Watertown home fire last week.

People joined together on Western Avenue to show their support and remember the victims.

Officials have not released the names or ages of any of the victims. Multiple sources have told NBC15 News that the people who died were children. Additionally, Watertown School Superintendent Jarred Burke reported Monday that all three of them were students in the district. He added the district has brought in grief counselors and is offering support services to grieving students, staff, and families.

Community members laid out flowers during the vigil and dozens of cars drove past the home Monday night, revving their engines and honking horns. Nicole Sweeney, an organizer of the vigil, is mourning the deaths of the three children.

“The whole family was loved, cause it’s people coming from Waterloo, like we have literally people coming in,” Sweeney said.

For those who gathered, one of the immediate concerns was helping the family of the victims.

“Literally coming as a whole and making sure the whole family has anything they need,” Sweeney said.

A vigil was held Monday night to honor the three victims in a Watertown home fire.(NBC15/Colton Molesky)

Organizers said it’s not just friends or family mourning the loss of the victims, it’s the entire Watertown community.

“It’s devastated this community because these kids, their schoolmates, and everybody are just as traumatized,” a neighbor, Lisa Banks, said.

Autopsies are planned for Tuesday for the three victims, according to the Watertown Police Department. In an update Monday, Chief Robert Kaminski described their efforts as “ongoing and active” and indicated his department plans to provide updates as more details are uncovered.

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