A structure fire killed two children and injured seven others in Aurora on Wednesday. Aurora Fire Rescue were abundant at the scene, helping remove all residents from the two-story home.

Aurora Fire Rescue Fire Chief Alec Oughton Friday praised firefighters who battled the deadly house fire that claimed two children’s lives, and injured seven others. .

“This is a horrific tragedy,” Oughton said to start a video released to the media. “If it were not for the decisive, quick and courageous actions of your firefighters and paramedics, this situation could have been so much worse.”

The residential fire occurred in the 2800 block of South Oakland Circle West around 11:30 p.m. Wednesday night. A neighbor noted an “unbelievable” amount of both firefighters and Falck paramedics at the scene.

“Incidents like this cause incredible pain for families, communities and first responders. And it cuts particularly deep for our members, many of whom are parents,” Oughton said.

Oughton spoke of the emotional weight “of carrying a limp child out of a fire in your arms. Our members did this seven times that night, some rescuing multiple children from this incident.”

Two of the victims, a 1-year-old and a 9-year-old, died.

The department will not release any information on the victims for privacy reasons, he said. An investigation will span multiple agencies to determine the cause but could take several months.

“It is imperative that we leave no stone unturned to get to the right answer,” he said. “We owe that to the family, the community and you.”

Tiffany Brown, the mother of the two children that died, started a GoFundMe for help. It has generated over $4,000 in one day.