An elderly couple died after a fire broke out at their home in San Bernardino late Saturday night, and according to their son, they were trying to save their pets when they were killed.
Family members identified the couple as 81-year-old Carol Carty and 82-year-old James Carty.
Their son told Eyewitness News the couple had lived in the home on Holly Vista Boulevard and Alameda Avenue for 52 years.
Firefighters pulled the couple from the burning house and rushed them to the hospital where they died.
Their pets also died.
"They know everybody, no one's a stranger to them," said James Carty Jr. "I think they died trying to save their animals, trying to save their cats, and their little dogs."
Neighbors told ABC7 the fire department initially showed up but left, and didn't return until an hour later to check the home and fight the fire.