UNITY – Horror struck this town a year ago when fire claimed the lives of triplet brothers and the county sheriff who was helping put it out. But hope is rising from the ashes as the community has banded together to build a memorial park on the site of the blaze.

It was a bitter, cold Jan. 12 when 6-year-old brothers Brydon, Joshua and Marcus White were trapped in their Wood Lane home by the swift-moving fire.

Waldo County Sheriff Robert Jones, a volunteer with the Unity Fire Department, had a fatal heart attack while helping to fight the blaze. It was Jones’ 48th birthday.

The fire thrust the town into mourning and many will remember the tragedy of that day for the rest of their lives.

“The community was in shock,” recalled Melissa Bastien, a neighbor who witnessed the fire. “Almost everyone in town knew either Bob or the boys. The fire left a huge hole.”

Bastien is one of many in Unity working to turn the grief into something positive. She and others are helping create a memorial “Triplet Park” on the property where the boys’ house once stood.

The boys’ mother, Carmen Freyer, who managed to escape from the burning house with her 2-year-old daughter, Elizabeth, is assisting with the effort.

“Carmen is amazing,” said Bastien. “I applaud her resilience and positive outlook.”

The idea for the park came from Kurt and Barbara Freyer, Carmen Freyer’s in-laws who own the property.

The Freyers wanted a permanent memorial to the boys and Sheriff Jones and enlisted the Unity Barn Raisers to help make the park possible.

Unity Barn Raisers is a nonprofit organization with more than 100 members, which provides the town with community and economic services.

The Barn Raisers have helped Unity obtain a number of grants and were the driving force behind the recently opened Unity Community Center.

Barn Raisers volunteer Executive Director John Piotti estimated the project would cost $250,000. He said the group is already getting its fund-raising efforts in place and plans to hold an informational meeting in March.

Piotti said that Yarmouth-based landscape architects DeWan & Associates have contributed to the effort by helping with the park’s design. The design concept was crafted when Terry DeWan met with the Freyers, the boys’ grandparents, their teachers, firefighters and other community leaders in June.

“We were very fortunate to have a landscape architect do the work for us at no charge,” Piotti said Wednesday. “DeWan & Associates had done a similar project in developing an off-road bike trail in the memory of a young Yarmouth girl who was hit by a car.”

Triplet Park is envisioned as a 2-acre haven in the center of town set aside for relaxation, celebration and enjoyment. The park entrance will include a small courtyard and yard area bordered by a picket fence, a trellis and three wooden pergolas, symbolic of the triplet brothers.

Prominent in the park will be a “circle of hands,” a band of concrete at the outer edge of the courtyard with handprints of everyone who contributes to the park. A series of pathways will lead from that area to the park’s Robert Jones memorial.

Before becoming sheriff, Jones served as chief deputy for former Sheriff John Ford. Ford said Wednesday he was elated to learn that Jones would have a place of honor in Triplet Park.

“I just think it’s a wonderful tribute to the boys, Bob and the whole town,” said Ford. “It was a night from hell for that whole community, but I think that is also a memory that needs to be carried on.”

Piotti said the park would be built with volunteer labor, donated materials and financial contributions.

He said the park would be designed with a particular emphasis on young children because of its proximity to the town’s elementary school and day care center. Besides counting on donations to build Triplet Park, its organizers also want to establish an endowment to ensure that it will receive perpetual care.

“It really is a communitywide event and response to the tragedy. We want to create a positive thing that will come out of the lives of the three boys and Bob Jones,” said Piotti. “I am confident we can raise the funds.

“There’s such excitement building about this plan. This will be a living memorial right in the heart of Unity that the community will be using for the next hundred years.”

Tax deductible contributions can be sent to Triplet Park c/o Unity Barn Raisers. P.O. Box 381, Unity 04988.