Fifteen Missouri fire departments battled a four-alarm residential blaze that killed four people early Sunday.
The fire erupted at about 2 a.m. at a home in De Soto, KMOV-TV reports. Two people inside the house called 9-1-1 and were able to escape the flames by jumping through a second-story window.
The two individuals who escaped the fire suffered extensive burns, according to KSDK-TV. They were taken to a local hospital.
The blaze destroyed the stairs in the house, and four people were still trapped inside when crews arrived.
"While doing a secondary search, (firefighters) were able to discover four deceased adults in the home," De Soto Fire Captain Stephen Orr told KMOV.
One of the people who died in the fire was a building inspector in nearby Hillsboro. A dog also died in the blaze.
Firefighters from 15 departments in Jefferson and Washington counties were finally able to get the blaze under control by about 5 a.m. The cause of the fire is under investigation.
