BLACKLICK, Ohio (WCMH) – Two people missing from an early morning fire in Jefferson Township have been found dead.

Jefferson Township Fire Chief Brad Shull confirmed firefighters located the bodies of a 71-year-old woman and a four or five-year-old boy, after they had been missing for several hours after a fire broke out around 2 a.m. on the far east side of the city.

“They were found together, it was a grandmother and grandson,” Shull said. “The reports from the other children that got out are that grandma was trying to close doors and isolate things for them to escape. So, though she succumbed, obviously her efforts were heroic last night.”

Multiple crews responded to the woman’s home on the 6600 block of Greylag Street of the East Broad neighborhood in Jefferson Township. According to Shull, a woman and her three grandchildren were in the home when the fire broke out. Two girls, ages 11 and 12, escaped the fire, but the grandmother and her grandson did not make it.

“We also did have reports from the two girls who got out that smoke detectors were working and they were woken by that and the smell of smoke inside the house, so that we at least had one working smoke detector in there,” Shull said.

Firefighters left the scene as of 11 a.m. but investigators remained with crews removing debris and a portion of the front wall of the home. The heavy-duty equipment was also being used to stabilize the home while investigators continued to work inside the building.

Earlier in the morning, a drone was used to look inside the home while searching for the woman and her grandson. The two girls told firefighters that they saw their grandmother trying to close doors in the home before they were able to get out and knock on a neighbor’s door for help. One of the girls reportedly tried to go back into the home to help, but the smoke forced her back.

“Yeah, it’s frustrating for us, it’s frustrating not being able to take that time to give the family the closure that’s needed,” Shull said. “But before I came here to talk to you, I talked to them and they’re sad, they’re grateful and we’re grateful to be able to help them.”

The fire was first reported around 2:30 a.m. and the home was fully engulfed in flames when crews arrived. By 3 a.m., the home was nearly destroyed. Firefighters were able to contain the blaze by around 4 a.m.

While responding to calls like this is tough, the slogan on Jefferson Township emergency vehicles reads, “Our family, caring for yours.”

“We try to treat everybody like it’s your own grandparents, right, and the other part of that is we got to perform at our best on their worst day,” Shull said. “And this is one of those days that, you know, everybody came together. It’s not a positive outcome. You know, half the victims got out, which is great, but the other half didn’t.”

The chief got emotional while discussing the fire.

“Our hearts go out to, you know, for anybody who has kids and anybody who has the matriarch or the patriarch of the family, the fight to help other people get out, it’s a heart-wrenching blow,” he said. “We’re here for them if they need us.”

Columbus Fire and Franklin County Sheriff’s Office aided in the response with Jefferson Township firefighters.

No information was available on how the fire started as of Tuesday afternoon.