Neighbors, family, and friends in Elmira are remembering the four children who lost their lives in a Rochester fire over the weekend. Gage Reavey, and Greg, Kandee, and Kaiden Kugler died after a fire engulfed part of their home on Grape Street in Rochester Saturday.
The family was originally from Elmira. Our Lara Greenberg has more.
ELMIRA, N.Y. -- The past few days haven't been easy for Malea Molina.
"I was close to Kandee like this. And we were like sisters," she says.
Malea is just one of a group of neighborhood children in Elmira mourning the loss of their friends 14-year-old Gage Reavey, along with 13-year-old Greg, 11-year-old Kandee, and 6-year-old Kaiden Kugler. The four children died in a fire that tore through their Rochester home on Grape Street Saturday.
Until last November, they were living in this house on Oak Street in Elmira.
"It was so fun when they were alive. And now they're above us, watching us from where we are," said Molina.
"We would play manhunt 'til one in the morning, and then we would play video games and everything," said friend Allister Tronchin.
Neighborhood friends set up a memorial at the children's old house. There's also a memorial at Gage Reavey's father's house on Grand Central Avenue.
Family members did not want to speak on camera, but their friends say the loss is devastating.
"It's heartbreaking. I know it's going to take a long time to get over if they can. It's very hard," said family friend Stephanie Owens.
The children's mother, Bobbie Kugler, made it out of the home with her two-year-old son Tyron Jackson.
Though Gage, Greg, Kandee, and Kaiden didn't make it out, friends said they will not be forgotten.
"They were always happy. They came. They looked for love. They found it. They were very loving. I mean they were just crazy fun," said former neighbor Melissa Schuyler.
The cause of the fire is still under investigation. Funeral arrangements have not yet been scheduled.
The family is asking for donations. If you'd like to help them out, head over to milksono.com