SHARON, Pa. — Residents of Sharon were still reeling over the death of 3-year-old Layden Thomas Wednesday night as a vigil was held in his honor.
The toddler died in a house fire Tuesday after his father rescued him but then apparently followed the man when he went back inside the burning home to save a 5-year-old and an infant, police said.
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Family and friends gathered Wednesday night to light candles and recite prayers for the young boy.
“I didn’t even know that this many people would come out - that we have so much support around us like that, and I really appreciate it,” Layden’s mother said.
Layden’s father, mother and grandmother wore T-shirts to the vigil of his favorite superhero: the Hulk.
Some of those paying tribute to Layden were the firefighters who first responded to the blaze and discovered the boy’s body underneath a bed in the house.
"It's community support to show the family that we’re behind them. Most of us have little ones at home, and it kind of hits you, makes you appreciate it more realizing everything can be gone in a split second," one of the firefighters said.
The family lost everything in fire and has set up a GoFundMe page to raise funds for clothes and other necessitates plus funeral costs.