PULASKI, PA. Mourners remember five young fire victims

Lumber to rebuild the family's home has already been delivered to the site.
STAFF/WIRE
PULASKI, Pa. -- Arriving by cars or horse-drawn buggies, about 1,000 mourners gathered Saturday at a funeral for five Amish children who died in a house fire earlier in the week.
The crowd, made up mostly of Amish, gathered inside two farmhouses and a wood shop on a neighbor's farm where a funeral service lasted about an hour, said family friend Bob Glenn, who has become the family's spokesman.
"It was a very somber service, just like the whole thing has been," said Glenn, 57.
A wood- and coal-burning furnace started a fire that consumed the two-story home of Rudy and Lizzie Wengerd on Tuesday night. The Wengerds escaped into the bitter cold with four of their children, but five others failed to escape.
The coroner said Katie, 14; Levi, 12; Neil, 11; John, 4; and Jonathon, 2, all died of smoke inhalation.
Children's escape
Glenn said that during the escape, one of the boys leaped from the second floor and then caught his younger brother. Two other children climbed down a ladder put up by their father before the fire became too intense for a rescue.
Authorities ruled the fire resulted from an accident involving the furnace.
Thhe wooden-frame house was destroyed, and volunteers were planning to rebuild Monday morning, Glenn said. Donated lumber has been delivered to the site of the former house.
Saturday was reserved for remembering the children, who were known to help their parents with chores around the house. Rudy Wengerd worked at a livestock auction house and Lizzie Wengerd sold baked goods at flea markets.
Showing their support, the Amish came from across the state to attend the funeral and burial. At least 150 buggies could be seen at the farm, located about a mile from the site of the fire.
"One guy told me he traveled two and a half hours by car," Glenn said.
Funeral procession
Following a procession led by the surviving family members, the children's bodies were to be laid to rest at a nearby cemetery. The day was to conclude with a meal at the farm, Glenn said.
A public service for the dead children is planned for 11 a.m. Tuesday at the Mercer Livestock Auction, where Rudy Wengerd works as a head yardman.