As flames engulfed a home in the 1500 block of Ridgell Row in Dallas County, neighbors used hoses to keep the fire from spreading, or just stood by in disbelief.
"I'm sad. I mean, just devestated. I cannot believe this...those poor babies," Kathy Leemauk, a friend of the family said.
Firefighters say a father and two of his children were asleep inside the home when it caught fire early New Years morning. The father and one of his children made it out of the blaze, but his three year-old son did not.
While investigators are still trying to figure out the cause, some neighbors believe space heaters may be to blame.
"When I walked in the house that house was just freezing and the dad said he was doing his best, cause there were holes in the walls and it was real drafty, to keep the house as warm as he could," said neighbor Misty Jameson
Jameson said once the fire started it grew out of control quickly. "It looked like a bomb went off, the trees were engulfed in flames, the next street was all lit up. I was afraid our street was gonna catch on fire."
That was the fear many neighbors had as they scrambled to keep the fire contained.
"My brother was there hosing down the stuff trying to keep the fire off our mother's house," neighbor Elisa Andress said.
Another neighbor, Larry Ackmann, said, "all those embers just large chunks kept flying into their roof and it's a miracle her place didn't go up."
Firefighters arrived just in time to keep the fire from spreading, but neighbors say the real tragedy had already struck.
Fire officials say the father was rushed to the hospital after being burned on his hands and face while trying to rescue his son.
