PHELPS COUNTY, Mo. — A woman and two of her children were killed in a house fire Saturday night in Phelps County, Missouri.
The victims of the fire were identified Monday as Jessica Lynn Sager, 36, Caydence Sager, 14 and Savannah Sager, 9. A boy was able to escape the fire. A man who lives at the home, Jessica Lynn's husband and the father of the children, was not home at the time of the blaze.
"When it's young kids it really hurts," the Phelps County Coroner Ernie Coverdell said. Continuing that in his almost five years as coroner, this is arguably the worst and most deadly fire of his career.
Dispatchers getting a call at about 10:45 p.m. on March 2 for a house on fire in the 10000 block of County Road 2120. The fire burned extremely hot and it took hours to locate the victims.
According to the Phelps County Sheriff's Department, an off-duty deputy who lives close by responded to the call. When he arrived, he found the young boy outside the house, which was engulfed in flames. The deputy provided care to the boy until paramedics arrived.
"Mom may have gotten him out of there which would be an amazing thing," Coverdell said. "I would believe that mom would try and get the kids out. I think it just happened so quick and happened so fast, she could only get him out and probably went back in to get the other two and just couldn't make it."
When additional deputies arrived on the scene, they said they believed several people were trapped inside the house.
Deputies could not enter the wood structured house with bricks on the outside due to heavy smoke and fire, the sheriff's department said. Fire units that responded entered the residence but determined it was unsafe and evacuated. The fire was later controlled.
The aftermath still prevalent on Monday, as 5 On Your Side news crews saw the metal roof scorched and crumbled from the heat.
It took fire crews 6-7 hours to find all three victims killed from what Coverdell said was almost inescapable smoke inhalation.
Phelps County Sheriff’s Department, Rolla Rural Fire Department and the Missouri State Fire Marshall’s Office are investigating the cause of this fire.
The father not home at the time because he works in oil fields and can be away from home for weeks at a time Coverdell shared.
When 5 On Your Side spoke with the coroner he was on his way to meet with that devastated dad.
"He has lost everything," Coverdell said. "Not only his family but he has lost his home and everything they had. I mean it's gone."
If you're interested in donating to the surviving son and father's Go Fund Me page, you can click here.
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