3-year-old and 6-year-old in ICU after house fire: 'It's tough,' says father

Two kids at Children's National after house fire

Two brothers, William and Zachariah, are now in intensive care at Children's National Hospital after a fire at their home in Clifton.

FAIRFAX COUNTY, Va. - Two Fairfax County children are in the hospital, being treated for life-threatening injuries suffered during a fire at their home in Clifton on Wednesday.

A fire was reported at the Brice family home around 9 a.m. Wednesday morning.

The two youngest members of the Brice family, 6-year-old son William and 3-year-old Zachariah, are now in intensive care at Children's National Hospital.

"They suffered major smoke inhalation yesterday. Thankfully, they don’t have any burns, but they’re being treated and monitored around the clock right now," said father James Brice.

"It's tough to see them in their current condition, but they do have a pulse," said Brice. "They are breathing with the help of the ventilators and all the wires and tubes. The major concern right now is injuries to the brain because of how long they were unresponsive."

Brice says the boys' older brother, 8-year-old Logan, and his parents were also home when the fire broke ou

t. William and Zachariah were trapped upstairs.

"We don’t know how the fire started or what caused it. We just know that it was sudden and fast. We know that Logan was in the basement. We know my parents and the kids were upstairs," said Brice. "Logan got out of the house and was able to call 911. And if he hadn’t called 911, this could be much, much worse. It’s not good right now, but it could be even worse."

Brice says he, his wife, and the oldest brother, 13-year-old Seth, were not home at the time.

"We're overwhelmed by our church, the community, the schools, our family, and friends. We knew we were loved, but we didn’t know we were loved this much. And it’s really been amazing to see how God‘s been working through all of this. So we are believing that they are going to be healed and they are going to recover and come out on the other side."

Fairfax County Fire officials say they're still working to determine the cause of the fire here. In the meantime, the Brice family is staying in hotels, with other family and friends, and praying for William and Zachariah.