The Hellertown community recently celebrated the dedication of a memorial bench to two borough girls who were tragically killed in a house fire last year.

Sisters Brianna Baer, 15, and Abigail Kaufman, 10, both Saucon Valley School District students, were killed in an overnight blaze on April 1, 2022. Immediately following the tragedy, the Hellertown community sprung to action, showering their parents, family, and friends with support.

The Hellertown-Lower Saucon Chamber of Commerce, in partnership with several Hellertown businesses, coordinated a ‘Funds for the Family’ event, where restaurants and other retail establishments agreed to donate a portion of their proceeds from sales made during the event to the project.

At a May 2 ceremony at Dimmick Park, representatives from the Chamber and community leaders such as Northampton County Executive Lamont McClure and Mayor David Heintzelman helped dedicate the bench, which features a plaque bearing the girls’ names.

In addition to the bench, local developer Lou Pektor donated two cherry trees from his Mid Hill Nursery, which he said will bloom each year around the anniversary of their deaths.