Memorial services set for 6 Little Village fire victims

Funeral arrangements have been set for some of the victims of a tragic fire in Little Village that killed 10 children last weekend.

“We are working with four families to bury ten children; nothing could be more difficult,” community group Enlace Chicago said in a Facebook post.

A memorial service is scheduled for 10 a.m.-noon Saturday at Our Lady of Tepeyac Church, 2226 S. Whipple, for six of the victims. They are siblings Nathan Contreras, 13; Cesar Contreras, 14; Xavier Contreras, 11; Ariel Garcia, 5; and Amayah Almaraz, 3 months; and their cousin, Adrian Hernandez, 14. The children were at a sleepover in a two-bedroom apartment at 2224 S. Sacramento when a fire broke out at 4:30 a.m. Sunday.

Services for the four additional victims — siblings Giovanni Ayala, 10; Gialanni Ayala, 5; and Alanni Ayala, 3; and friend Victor Mendoza, 16 — will be announced next week, Enlace said.

Donations for others displaced by the fire are being accepted at www.gofundme.com/support-families-mourning.

MORE ABOUT THE LITTLE VILLAGE FIRE

• All 10 Little Village victims slept through fire — is that unusual?

• DCFS drops bombshell as it investigates Little Village fire deaths

• Smoke detector found in ruins of Little Village fire where 10 children died

• Child death toll in Little Village fire matches highest in city since 1958

• ‘Everyone knew these kids’: Family, friends mourn Little Village fire victims

• Eight children dead in Little Village blaze: ‘God, take them to heaven’