DANVILLE — The healing process has begun for a mother who lost her two young daughters in a fatal house fire earlier this week.

Danville firefighters were called to the scene of the house fire just before 6 a.m. Wednesday at 1001 Moore St. Once inside, they found the bodies of 5-year-old Deziray Mott and 4-year-old Seiona Haywood in a northwest bedroom. The little girls were pronounced dead at the scene.

Their mother, Dana Brown of Danville, helped move clothes, furniture and toys Friday from the New Jerusalem Church of Christ to a storage garage along Lynch Road. Two days removed from the horrific morning, Brown said she was doing better and that Friday was a good day.

But even on a good day, there were still tears rolling from the mother’s eyes.

“Every time I talk about them I cry, but it’s getting better slowly,” Brown said, standing out in morning snow.

“I know they’re in a better place,” she added.

Brown was able to escape the home with the girls’ two brothers — ages 3 and 6 — as well as Lionel Jones, who was in the home at the time of the fire.

Jones, standing close to Brown, recalled the little things that made each young girl special.

“They were angels. They were really something special, you know,” he said. “And they’re always going to be something special. Always.

“I’m going to miss them.”

Brown said the two girls liked to do a lot of the same things: play in the snow, watch cartoon movies.

“And they colored on the walls,” she said. “Instead of coloring in the books they liked to color on the walls.”

Deziray — also known as Ray Ray — was turning into a young lady already, wanting to wear lip gloss and picking out her own clothes, usually the color pink. Seiona, they said, was still more of the tomboy.

“Seiona was always the curious one,” Brown said. “She always wanted to do things.”

In the wake of the tragedy, the community has stepped forward to help the family, which lost almost everything as a result of the fire in the one-story rental home.

Since Wednesday, donations of clothing, toys and other items have been accepted for the family at the New Jerusalem Church of Christ, 1033 N. Walnut St. On Friday, a caravan of two SUVs and a large van carried a load of the items out to a storage garage donated for 30 days to the family.

Rose Keys, wife of the pastor at the church, said people have been dropping off items and some have even called asking whether items they wanted to donate could be picked up.

Key said she’s been quite surprised with the outpouring of support.

“It’s so much love,” she said Friday. “Strangers coming in and the love that people are showing to a family that is going through this.”

In addition to the material objects, a fund for monetary donations has now been set up at Landmark Credit Union under Brown’s name, Keys said.

While the items keep coming in, Brown said her family still is searching for a two-bedroom apartment for themselves.

She and Jones both said they are appreciative of everything that has been offered so far.

“I want to say that I’m thankful for what everybody is doing for me,” Brown said. “It’s kind of hard because I miss my girls.”