1,000 pay respects to four children, two adults killed in Warren house fire

Warren Funeral for Six Fire Deaths

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WARREN — Believers Christian Fellowship was filled to overflowing today as funeral services began for the six victims of last week's deadly fire at 911 Landsdowne Ave. NW. Mourners gathered to honor and remember Audrea Johnson, 31; Derek Dorsey Sr., 30; their two children, Derek Dorsey Jr., 11, and Ariell Dorsey, 9; Derek Sr.’s niece, Miracle Hugley, 9; and Audrea’s niece, Ja’Niece Hicks, 13, of Columbus. Six caskets lined the front of the church for the service.

By Ed Runyan

runyan@vindy.com

HOWLAND

A thousand people and six coffins filled the Believers Christian Fellowship sanctuary.

“Death is not an easy thing to accept,” the Rev. Robert Stringer said Thursday during the funeral for six people who died a week ago in a Warren house fire.

“Death can come at any time, at any place. We want to know why, but can we really know? We have to leave it in the hands of God.”

He stood in front of six coffins and told mourners: “Sure, you’re suffering, but I want you to know that our loved ones are not in these boxes. We’re going to see every one of these loved ones again, because they’re with the Lord.”

The victims, Derek Dorsey, 30; his fianc e, Audrea Johnson, 31; their two children, Derek Jr., 10, and Ariell, 9; and a cousin, Miracle Hugley, 9, were all members of Stringer’s congregation at New Freedom Missionary Baptist Church in Warren. Another cousin, Ja’Niece Hicks, 13, who also died, was visiting from Columbus.

Believer’s Christian Fellowship, which seats 800, offered the family use of its sanctuary for the funeral, which drew about 1,000 people.

All six victims died early June 16 in a fire that destroyed the Dorsey family’s home on Landsdowne Avenue Northwest.

Investigators believe a charcoal grill on a backyard deck ignited vinyl siding at about 4 a.m. and spread up the roofline, destroying the top floor, where the children were sleeping.

Smoke apparently also killed the adults, who were on the first floor.

The Rev. Mr. Stringer asked the people to see the deaths as part of God’s plan rather than a random act.

“We think things just happen, but God had an appointment back in the archives of time,” he said. “He had the date in his appointment book that we would all be here today.”

“We’ll miss all of them, their fellowship, the communication you had with them, the impact they had on our lives, the activities we did with them every day,” he said.

The pastor had recollections of the parents, as well as the Dorsey children and Miracle Hugley, who sang in his church’s choir. Miracle, who lived with her grandparents, always would greet him with a hug, Mr. Stringer said.

Mourners should cry if they must, but another way to look at it comes from a baseball analogy, he said.

“The Lord hit a home run and brought six home,” he said.

Audrea’s father, The Rev. Daniel Johnson of Columbus, said he will never be able to write thank-you cards to all the people “who have reached out to us and embraced all of our families.”

Pastor Gerald Morgan of Hoyt Street Church of God in Christ said having the funeral at the “beautiful setting” of Believer’s Christian Fellowship is “the best we could do as a community” to honor those who died. BCF and other churches also contributed thousands of dollars to help pay funeral expenses.

“Only God’s love gets us through days like today,” Mayor Michael O’Brien said. “Today we feel a hollow spot in our hearts.”

O’Brien said he hopes the loss will remind everyone to “tell people we love them more often.”