Taken too soon

WASILLA — To hear him tell it, Liam O’Donohue thought the world of his friend Bryce Anthony Woods.

“Anthony was a good friend to me,” Liam, 9, says in a letter about his friend. “He had a nice friendly smile, and he was good to everyone. He played with me every day.”

Anthony was the second fire fatality of the year in Wasilla. Passersby spotted the fire Jan. 7. One ran inside, the other called for help. Anthony’s 12-year-old brother, Noble Cedar “Vincent” Woods, made it out of the blaze, Anthony was found near the door.

Liam’s mother, Pat O’Donohue, said she heard about the fire, but the details were sketchy. She and her son watched the 10 o’clock news that night to find out more. When Liam heard it was Anthony who died, she recalled that he turned to her and said, “Mom, he was a real stand-up kind of guy.”

Since then, she and her son have been thinking a lot about the little boy who was once a big part of their lives. O’Donohue said she’s been told Vincent, who was burned in the fire and was rushed to Anchorage that night, was released from the hospital Tuesday.

Thursday, Liam shared stories about Anthony. He said his friend liked Hot Wheels cars. At school, they would play tag at recess and enjoyed gym class, especially a dodge-ball-like game with a Star Wars theme. Liam said Anthony also liked partner games, in which he and Liam would often pair up.

And, Liam said, Anthony always stuck up for him. He shared one anecdote from when the two were in kindergarten.

“This kid that I didn’t know, he bullied me. He pushed me to the ground,” Liam said. “Anthony came over and said, ‘Don’t do that. It’s not nice.’”

And the boy left. Sometimes, Liam said, Anthony would put on a tough voice to scare off the bigger kids, but he doesn’t think his friend would have hurt anyone. He was too nice.

Pat O’Donohue thinks that’s what brought her son and Anthony together. They would stick up for each other.

Friends of the Woods’ have set up a bank account at Wells Fargo in the name of Jennifer Woods, Anthony’s mother. Pat says that money will hopefully go toward buying the boy a headstone and paying for other funeral expenses.

And she’s helping start another effort. She and her children came up with the idea of selling white chocolate lollipops in the shape of a heart for $1.50 apiece.

Pat is calling the fundraiser “Valentines for Vincent.”

The money, she said, will all go to Vincent who, in addition to his brother, lost everything he owned in the fire. She wants Vincent to have money to buy toys, games, clothes, whatever.

“This kid can go out and buy whatever he needs to make him feel like a kid again,” she said.

She’s making the pops at her business, Alaska Chocolate Co. She said every penny people spend on the pops will go to Vincent.

Liam recently started a homeschool program. But he still saw Anthony a lot. Anthony would come to the O’Donohue house to play.

“What’s sad is in about second grade I called him and asked if I could go over there and play with him and I never got to go,” Liam said.

O’Donohue said Liam had a twin brother in the womb who died in utero and was carried to term. This week Liam asked her if Anthony had made it to heaven yet.

“He is not going to believe it when he gets to heaven and sees a little boy that looks just like me,” O’Donohue recounted her son saying.

As she told the story, Liam chimed in, “They could play together and it be just like he’s with me.”

Contact Andrew Wellner at andrew.wellner@frontiersman.com or 352-2270.

Good Samiritans found,

remain unidentified

WASILLA — Alaska State Troopers say they’ve found the Good Samaritans who stopped to help two boys in a burning trailer.

Two men and a woman were the first to notice the fire on Sylvan Road on Jan. 7, according to AST spokeswoman Megan Peters.

Anthony Woods, 9, died in the blaze. His brother, Vincent Woods, made it out alive, but injured.

“According to them, the 12-year-old was already out of the trailer and one of the three went in to try to locate the 9-year-old but could not,” Peters said.

Initial reports said one of the men received burns as a result of his dash into the fire. Troopers had been hoping to speak to the Good Samaritans since the night of the fire.

Peters said that there is often value in such situations in talking to people who saw the blaze early on, since they can often describe how the fire behaved. She said none of the three wish to be identified.