Prominent Tongan family mourning after deadly Colleyville house fire

The daughter of a well-known Tongan pastor is remembering her childhood home filled with love and faith after a deadly fire claimed the lives of both her parents on Saturday.

The Colleyville Fire Department was called to the family's Briarwick Lane home around 10 a.m., finding the house engulfed in flames. Inside were her parents, 78-year-old Rev. Dr. Salesi "Charles" Havea and his 77-year-old wife, Sela, along with two of their adult sons.

Etina Havea says her older brothers, Sione Havea and Kisione Lipoi Havea, were able to escape. She says Sione Havea got out through a window and is still recovering from smoke inhalation that affected his heart, as well as cuts. She also says Kisione Havea suffered burns to both hands and inhaled smoke. Both are being treated at Parkland Hospital in Dallas.

The Havea family is closely connected to the Free Wesleyan Church of Tonga, one of the nation's most influential churches. Etina Havea says both of her parents were born and raised in Tonga and came to the United States as teenagers for school. She says Rev. Dr. Salesi Havea attended Texas Wesleyan University before dedicating his life to ministry and community leadership in different parts of the world.

He retired from the Free Wesleyan Church in Tonga before moving to the U.S., where he currently served as president of the Tongan Wesleyan Church of America. Rev. Dr. Salesi Havea was also the older brother of Rev. Dr. Tevita Havea, the current president of the Free Wesleyan Church of Tonga.

The couple's daughter recalled a warm and comforting childhood. She described her father as a devoted pastor and her mother as gentle and loving.

"He stood strong in his faith, and that, I knew growing up, he was our father, but in the sense that he was everybody's father because he really did care so much about everybody," Etina Havea said through tears. "And my mother was always behind him, she was the kind of woman that just loved unconditionally."

The family says the fireplace was not in use at the time of the fire, but space heaters were operating. Investigators have not determined the exact cause of the fire.

"It gives me comfort knowing that he made a difference," Etina Havea said.

Neighbors have started a GoFundMe campaign to support the family, helping with medical expenses and other financial needs during this difficult time.