A house in Harlan County, Ky. caught on fire on Monday, killing 3-year-old twins and seriously injuring their parents.
"I immediately pulled out my phone and dialed 9-1-1, hoping they were not home," neighbor Shawn Crow said.
Dennis Chad Howard, 39, and his wife Allyson Howard, 42, were flown by medical helicopter to Augusta, Ga. to be treated for serious burns that were said to be life-threatening.
Their neighbor, Shawn Crow tried to help as soon as he saw the house was on fire.
"I seen flames inside the window to the ceiling," Crow said.
Crow said he saw his neighbor, Dennis Howard race out of the burning house.
"His hair was on fire when he come out. He came running out to get away from the house," Crow said.
He then saw the man's wife, Allyson Howard barely make it out.
"She came running out and tumbled down the stairs. We grabbed her and pulled her into my yard. At that time, we heard a propane tank whistling and flames coming out, so we knew it was about to explode. Then it did explode" Crow said.
With the help of a neighbor, they did all they could to keep her calm.
"There's where we initially brought her down the hill on that blanket and tried to do all we could for her. The neighbor brought some water for her. We loaded her up in a truck and took her to the bingo hall where they had a helicopter waiting, and the flight nurses came out and I stayed around to help as much as I could," he said.
Crow said he's never seen anything like this. The home was so hot and there was nothing else he could do to help.
"The house was burning so quickly there was no possibility if me getting inside," he said.
Officials said the couple's twins were in the home and didn't make it out. It was something Crow, who has twins himself, couldn't imagine.
"I had talked to him (Dennis Chad Howard) before about how I had twins and we had shared experiences. It's just such a heartbreaking thing for me," Crow said.
Crow said the Howard's fixed the house up and had a lot pets they took great care of.
"That house is probably going to stay there as long as I live here, and I'll always look up and remember that moment," he said.
The Kentucky State Police Department is working with the Fire Marshall's Office to investigate what caused the fire. They said the process could take a while.
