Only after Melissa Bridges's attempts were unsuccessful were firefighters called to the house at 1424 E. Highland Ave.
And by that time, Joshua J. Jenkins, 15, and Corey B. Jenkins, 14, had disappeared upstairs to their bedroom, where their mother couldn't reach them and where firefighters later found them.
The two children, students at Southside High and Wilson Middle schools respectively, were taken to Ball Memorial Hospital, where they were pronounced dead shortly after they arrived.
"This is all a shame," Delaware County Coroner Jim Clevenger said. "If we can do anything positive with losing two children in a house fire is to tell people not to fight fires when they happen. Instead get out and call 911."
The fire was eventually reported at 4:07 p.m., after Bridges stopped a passing motorist.
When firefighters arrived, Bridges was in the front yard screaming "My baby, my baby," said Muncie Fire Battalion Chief Tommy Crawford.
Firefighters immediately tried "to push heat, fire and smoke" back into the small two-story home in an attempt to find Bridges's children.
Using thermal cameras, Muncie firefighters eventually found the boys lying unconscious on the floor of their upstairs bedroom.
They carried the children outside, performed cardio-pulmonary resuscitation and rushed them to the hospital. But within minutes of arriving, both boys were pronounced dead.
"We just couldn't do it," Crawford said. "It's a shame. That fire had a jump on us and was in its advanced stages."
Bridges, who suffered burns to her hands, face and arms, told investigators that she was in the living room when the fire broke out. One of her sons was with her and she didn't know where the other was.
While she tried to fight the blaze, Bridges lost track of her son, she told police. The fire eventually got out control and forced her outside, where she then tried to fight it with a garden hose, Crawford said.
About the same time, 14-year-old James Campbell was running down Highland Avenue to help.
Campbell saw smoke and flames while he was sitting in a city bus that was stopped about two blocks from the house. He and three other passengers got out of the bus, ran to the house, heard Bridges screaming and ran to the back door.
When the group kicked in the rear door, flames and smoke shot out.
"Right now I am angry," Campbell said. "I don't like to see people die. No matter what we did we just couldn't do anything."
Based on what Bridges told them, investigators said they knew what caused the blaze, but declined to release the cause until they "get a few loose ends together," Muncie fire investigator David Miller said.
Investigators did say the fire started in the living room and they didn't suspect foul play.
Clevenger said an autopsy would be conducted today on both boys. Joshua and Corey Jenkins suffered from smoke inhalation and had second-degree burns all over their bodies.
Family members told The Star Press that both boys had several disabilities, including autism. Both were enrolled in the special education programs at their schools.
The boys lived at the Highland Avenue home with their mother, stepfather and two other siblings. The family had just moved into the house in June.
"They were wonderful kids that liked to play and enjoy life," said their uncle Terry Jenkins. "They had a heart of gold."
Wilson teacher's aide Tara Gudger had just seen Corey Jenkins a few hours before he died.
He was playing on a scooter in gym class Monday before he leaving for home.
"They were wonderful kids who were always happy and loved to play," Gudger said. "They didn't deserve to die like this."
