An Ohio pastor and two of his eight children died in a house fire last Tuesday while holding each other.

The late pastor, Mark Robinette, rescued his wife and two other children from the fire at his home outside Columbus, according to a Facebook post from Robinette’s cousin, Haley McGuire. But when Robinette went to save his sons, who were sleeping upstairs, the three of them perished, the post said.

Robinette, 55, was a founding member and pastor at Foundation Church in Sterling, Ohio. He had served at the church for 23 years, according to the church’s website.

Robinette’s brother, Paul Robinett, announced the tragedy in a Facebook post Tuesday afternoon, saying his brother had died while trying to save his children.

“Mark was able to get Andrea and two children who were sleeping upstairs out of the house to safety,” Robinett wrote. “But when he tried to rescue the other two children who were still in their bedrooms upstairs, they all perished in the fire.”

The sons who died were Gideon, 17, and Liam, 10, according to McGuire.

McGuire said that the pastor was “found holding onto them both,” after the fire dissipated. “The 3 of them never made it out,” she continued.

The fire was reported around 12:30 a.m. last Tuesday and its cause is still under investigation, according to The Columbus Dispatch.

Three other people suffered injuries from the blaze, the Dispatch reported. All three injured were reportedly released from a local hospital on Tuesday morning.

Family member Hugh Rose told local news publication WCMH, “Mark was the most giving person that you could ever imagine.”

He added that Robinette had “heart for people who were homeless and on drugs and that’s what their ministry and their church was all about.”

Robinette also had a “deep passion” for missions work in Myanmar, according to his obituary. Multiple videos on the late pastor’s YouTube page, which has nearly 5,000 subscribers, highlight his work in the country.

“Mark was a bold, brave man, who died as he had lived, by enduring difficult things to try to make a way of escape for others, even if it cost him all he had,” the obituary added. A funeral was held for Robinette and his sons this past Saturday.

The Greater Columbus Right to Life shared that Robinette, who was a member of their board of trustees, had served the local community for many years.

“Mark was a fierce and impassioned defender of the vulnerable, with a special motivation to serve God, his family and church, the people of Myanmar, and the unborn,” the organization said in a statement on Facebook. “He, his beloved wife Andrea, their eight children, and members of their church were not just stalwart sidewalk advocates — they were like family to many of our team.”

Mike Comer, another cousin of the pastor, told WLBT that, “Mark was just so much to so many people, his foundation and his mission work.”

Comer said he drove from West Virginia to support the pastor’s family through this tragedy.

“I just came up here to be with the family. They’ve lost everything,” he said. “There are a lot of needs. They don’t even have shoes. . . They’re going to need some help, but they need our prayers and anything we can do for them.”

Several GoFundMe campaigns have been started to raise support for the family. Already, more than $346,000 has been raised.

“Their house and all of their belongings were completely destroyed, and it is the dead of winter,” Shonna Nitzel wrote in one of the campaigns. “They are left with the night clothes they were wearing and their vehicle and that is all. If you can find it in your heart to give monetarily to this sweet family to get them back on their feet, any and all donations are appreciated.”

Freelance journalist Liz Lykins writes for WORLD Magazine, Christianity Today, Ministry Watch, and other publications.