Ohio Pastor and his two sons, aged 17 and 10, die 'holding onto each other' after he saved his wife and other four children from house fire

Mark Robinette, 55, died alongside his two sons Gideon, 17, and Liam, 10, in a house fire early Tuesday morning in Pickaway CountyHe jumped back in to save his sons after he pushed his other kids and wife out of a windowThe Pastor and his wife raised eight children together- six biological and two who were adopted

An Ohio pastor died alongside his two sons in a tragic house fire after he saved his wife and two other children from the blaze.

Mark Robinette, 55, jumped back into the burning house after he realized that his two sons Gideon, 17, and Liam, 10, were still trapped inside.

The three never made it out and were discovered ‘holding onto each other,’ the Pastor’s cousin Haley McGuire wrote in a Facebook post.

Fire departments were dispatched to the family’s home in Pickaway County, about 19 miles from Columbus, on Tuesday around 12.22 am.

The cause of the fire is still unknown but investigators said that there is ‘no indication of foul play,’ according to a press release.

‘Three remarkable people and there is a hole in the world without them,’ Mark’s brother-in-law Geoffery Trapini told WBNS-TV.

Mark Robinette died alongside his two sons Liam and Gideon in a house fire early Tuesday morning in Pickaway County, Ohio. Pictured: Mark, 55 and his son Liam, 10

The father and Pastor ran back into the blaze after he managed to save his wife and two of their children. Pictured: Mark and his son Gideon, 17

Fire departments were dispatched to the family’s home in Pickaway County, about 19 miles from Columbus, on Tuesday around 12.22 am. The cause of the blaze is under investigation

Trapini revealed that Mark managed to save the rest of his family by pushing them out of a window before he ran back into the home.

The rest of the family is currently staying in a hotel and a memorial has been arranged outside the charred home, WBNS-TV reported.

‘His wife and six other kids are now without anything. They lost it all in the fire, including phones,’ McGuire said in her post.

Mark and his wife Andrea raised eight children together- six biological and two who were adopted.

Liam has been remembered as a sweet boy who ‘everyone loved’, while Gideon was preparing to go to college and had dreams of working in ministry like his father.

Gideon also enjoyed reading the bible, learning Spanish, working in the sound booth at his church, and poetry.

‘He was a passionate truth seeker with a contagious grin that lit up any room he entered,’ his obituary said.

Liam loved animals, playing checkers, drawing, and sending letters to his grandmother.

Mark shared a total of eight children with is wife Andrea (middle). Two of the eight were adopted

Multiple GoFundMe pages have been created to raise money for the family as Mark’s wife and six other children plan to rebuild their home. Pictured: Mark with his wife Andrea

‘His family was so thankful for the gift of our little bub,’ Liam’s obituary said.

Mark was a pastor at Foundation Church in Mt.Sterling which he founded in 2020. He was also the director and CEO at Mission to the Americas, a fundraising platform for ‘solid Christian ministries’ that need help.

According to his Facebook page, he was also the director and CEO at Mission To Myanmar, and previously worked as a reporter at The Daily Record and Portsmouth Daily Times.

During his time in the ministries, Mark would frequently travel on missions where he help those in need and grew close to the many children and families that he aided.

‘He was involved in a lot of things. If he saw a need he was involved in it. If he saw people in need he was involved in it,’ Trapani said.

His family also joined him on his mission trips where they would help people who were homeless, mentally ill, and involved in human trafficking groups, according to Trapani.

Liam has been remembered as a sweet boy who ‘everyone loved’

The three never made it out and were discovered ‘holding onto each other,’ the pastor’s cousin Haley McGuire wrote in a Facebook post

Gideon was preparing to go to college and had dreams of working in ministry like his father

Nainy Thang, the Vice President of Myanmar Evangelical Christian Alliance posted a heartfelt tribute to Mark online along with pictures of his kids embracing the Pastor.

‘My children miss you so much my big brother. We know you’re now in heavenly glory,’ Thang said.

A vigil for the father and is two sons was held on Tuesday night and money has been raised through two GoFundMe pages to help the family rebuild their home and their lives.

‘Their house and all of their belongings were completely destroyed, and it is the dead of winter. They are left with the night clothes they were wearing and their vehicle and that is all,’ Shonna Nitzel, who started the donation page for the family said.

The cause of the fire remains under investigation by the Division of State Fire Marshal’s Fire and and Explosion Investigation Bureau, Pickaway County Sheriff’s Office and the Coroner’s Office.