An elderly couple is dead after they were unable to escape a fire that broke out in their Rossburn area home Saturday.

Around 3 a.m. volunteer firefighters received a call from the home. Fifteen minutes later they found the single-storey home filled with smoke and an elderly couple unconscious inside.

The pair were rushed to hospital but died shortly after.

Fire Chief Kelly Slon said he believes there deaths were due to smoke inhalation, but autopsies have yet to be done on their bodies.

"When you lose someone in a tragic accident like this, it always affects the whole community --especially the small communities," said Slon.

Police have not confirmed the identities of the two people found in the home, but community members identified them as 70-year-old Ed Collins and his 72-year-old partner Marie.

“It certainly is very, very sad news. For us to lose a couple that were very friendly, very nice,” said Shirley Kalyn, Rossburn’s mayor.

Community members said the pair were mainly quiet and kept to themselves but were very well liked in the community. Collins had lived in Rossburn his entire life.

Slon said the fire that took the pair’s life was sparked by an electric furnace in the west end of the home.

A call was made by a woman inside the home. Fifteen minutes later she was found laying in a bedroom in the east end of the home, Slon said.

The man was found trying in the west-end of the home, and it appeared he was trying extinguish the blaze with water.

Slon said he wasn’t sure why the couple wasn’t able to escape from the home.

“I think it could’ve been prevented,” said Slon. “If there is a fire, call the fire department and get out of the house and stay clear.”

Community members believe mobility may have been an issue. They said the man suffered from multiple sclerosis and had a hard time moving, though he was well enough to get around Rossburn on his own.

Slon said the man was very close to getting out of the home safely. “He was two feet away from opening the door and crawling out into the fresh air and just didn’t make it,” said Slon.

Slon said the home did not have any smoke alarms.