SALISBURY, N.C. — Two children under the age of five died in a house fire in Salisbury over the weekend, Fire Chief Robert Parnell said in an update on Monday.
The Salisbury firefighters responded to a home on South Church Street with heavy flames showing around 12:30 a.m. on Saturday, the chief said.
Two adults were also inside the home at the time of the blaze, Parnell said. A woman was hurt and taken to the hospital and a man was uninjured.
The chief said a cause of the fire has not been determined and the fire marshal is working alongside police and stage officials on the investigation.
“We are praying for their family, praying for them and praying for the firefighters who tried valiantly to rescue them,” Parnell said in an update on Monday afternoon.
Parnell said the fire engulfed the floor which the children were on and firefighters could not reach them.
A close family friend of the children who died showed Channel 9′s Glenn Counts photos of them. Counts guestimates the children were three to five years old based on the photos.
Neighbors said they woke up to huge flames.
“I came out and it was burning, it was huge,” said Mazee Audley. ““You’re so helpless you can’t do anything for them.”
Another neighbor told Counts his dog alerted to him to the fire that shelled out the house.
“I was in my house and my dog started to bark, I looked out and all I seen was big flames,” Dan Sabol said.
One firefighter was hurt in the rescue attempt and fighting the flames. They were released from the hospital the following day after suffering burns to the hands and head.
Parnell said more information would be released when the cause of the fire is known.
(WATCH BELOW: 3 first responders shot while responding to fire in Rowan County, deputies say)
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