Several family members, including children, of a Billings Airport firefighter perished in a shooting and massive house fire Sunday evening.

Firefighter Adam Ghekiere’s two children with his ex-wife – Landon, 15, and Charlotte, 12, died along with his current wife Megan and his stepchildren – Owen, 13, and Chloe, 7.

Other victims included Megan's parents, Dana and Barb Smith, who owned the house, as well as her grandmother, Evelyn Smith, 92, according to the Billings Gazette. 

Another family member, the man suspected of opening fire during Sunday dinner before setting the house ablaze, died of an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound. He has not been identified by officials.

Ghekiere was at work at an airshow and when he heard about the incident in the neighborhood where his wife's parents lived.

“I tried calling the house and no one answered. I checked my kids’ locations, both Landon and Charlotte, and no one answered. I called Megan’s cellphone too.” he told The Sun.

“By the time we got to the house, they wouldn’t let us get any closer because it was still under an active shooter status. I feared the worst right then.”

He said his children wouldn't normally have visited their grandparents on a Sunday evening.

"I don’t think the shooter expected my kids to be there,” Ghekiere said.

Charlotte, his 12-year-old daughter, made the 9-1-1 call telling a dispatcher about a shooting and an unconscious child in the house. Hearing gunshots during the conversation, the communications operator sent multiple agencies. 

"She tried to save her family, And her mom and dad both agreed she lived by her favorite quote: 'I love you more.'" a family friend, Jennifer Mercer, told Gazette reporters.

Officers found a man in the back yard of the residence where smoke was showing. They heard a gunshot and found him suffering an apparent self-inflicted wound.

Billings Fire Chief Matt Hoppel told the media: “Because the scene could not be immediately confirmed as secured, our firefighters were unable to operate as we normally would.” 

“The delay and limited access presented significant challenges. Fire conditions continued to worsen, and the residence ultimately became heavily involved and was consumed by fire.”

Water had to be shuttled to the incident as there are no hydrants in the subdivision.

Hoppel called it a very complex and dangerous incident for his firefighters who will be provided with mental health assistance. 

Ghekiere told a reporter: “Playbook on how to deal with this is literally one minute at a time. That’s how we’re dealing with it.”