The Barth family of Newtown, Conn., has been left homeless by a fire that gutted their home at an already difficult time: the family is still recovering from the trauma of the Sandy Hook Elementary School massacre, which two of their children survived. Marc Santia reports.
A couple whose children survived the Sandy Hook Elementary School shootings is now homeless after a fire ravaged their home in Newtown, Conn.
Hans and Audra Barth and their three children lost everything in the fire Wednesday afternoon.
Two of their children attended Sandy Hook Elementary School; Peter Barth was a first-grader in teacher Kaitlin Roig's classroom.
Roig has been called a hero for barricading her students in a bathroom as the shooter killed 20 other first-graders and six educators.
"How much? How much can we take, you know? How much can we deal with," Audra Barth told NBC 4 New York on Friday.
After the fire, the children started asking questions, their mother said.
"They weren't concerned about stuff — they never once asked, 'Are my toys burned? ... The only question they asked: 'Is Goliath OK?" Barth said.
Goliath, the family chihuahua and Peter's best buddy, did not survive.
The family buried their beloved pet in the woods, but only after Peter drew half a heart on Goliath's makeshift casket.
"I said 'Why don't you draw a whole heart?' and he said 'I can't because the other piece is broken,'" said Barth, as she fought back tears.
St. Rose of Lima Church is taking donations for the family, but Barth is just thankful the family is together.
"We can replace stuff, but we cannot replace our children," she said.
