Many of the Stamford firefighters who attended the funeral for the three young girls killed in the Christmas Day fire called the funeral one of the most difficult days they've encountered in their careers.

Many of the firefighters in attendance had responded to the fatal fire that left a total of five people dead.

Ten-year-old Lilly Badger and 7-year-old twin sisters Grace and Sara Badger, along with their grandparents, Lomer and Pauline Johnson, were killed in the inferno. The children's mother, Madonna Badger, managed to escape the fire.

"It was hard, watching it, but it was inspiring at the same time," says Stamford Fire Capt. Michael Terenzio. "The mother is very strong and I look up to her as a parent and I?ve been a parent a long time."

The firefighters had all been recommended to attend the service as part of their counseling program because of the terrible nature of the fire.

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