LES COTEAUX, Que. — Two weeks have passed but the pain is still very fresh in the small town of Les Coteaux, west of Montreal.
READ MORE: 2-year-old son latest Les Coteaux fire victim
The flags outside town hall are at half-mast, and the flowers continue to pile up outside an apartment building on Des Bouleaux Street.
Two days before Christmas, a fire tore through a home and killed four members of the same family: 32-year-old Karine Desrochers-Gauthier, 37-year-old Patrick Gagnon, and their two children: Felix, 2, and Lorie, 4.
A fifth family member, 8-year-old Mathis Gagnon, survived.
READ MORE: Les Coteaux fire: 8-year-old survivor emerges from coma Christmas Day
Over the holidays, the close-knit community rallied to raise money for the young boy.
So far, more than $50,000 has been collected by the community; the majority raised by local firefighters.
“They even brought us toys, clothes, one person came in with a brand-new mattress,” said Lac St-Francois Fire Chief Michel Pitre.
At a Metro grocery store in nearby St-Zotique, store officials raised close to $4,000 for Mathis.
“The clients were in tears as they were placing money inside the containers,” said store manager Nathalie Leger.
“The mother killed in the fire used to work here.”
On Saturday, the funeral for the fire victims will take place at the Eglise St-Zotique on Principale Street.
The service is scheduled to begin at 2:00 pm ET.
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