The search for answers is underway following an early morning fire on saturday that claimed three lives.
The blaze destroyed the home near the 2800 block of State Road 48 just outside the small town of Shelburn, in Sullivan County. 

The call came in at 3:30 this morning when a neighbor smelled smoke through an open window. 
They told police that three people were believed to be in the house.
Law enforcement was  first on the scene, they found the fire well underway and could not help the three people inside.  

Sullivan County Sheriff, Clark Cottom said, “our deputy tried to make entry into the home and was pushed back from intense heat, flames, and smoke. He was not able to get into the home.”

Inside was a grandmother and her two young  grandsons.Family members told WTWO the mother of the two boys was at work when the fire started.
After the deputy retreated from the home’s flame an explosion occurred from what is thought to be the result of the fire coming in contact with a medical oxygen tank.

Chief John Quilliam, Thunderbird Fire Protection Territory, said, “the fire itself wasn’t that bad, but the explosion caused the walls to fall out from the structure, which caused the roof to collapse down in on the structure. So basically we had to sift through roofing and ceiling and insulation and lighting to search for the victims.

The grandmother and the two boys were pronounced dead at the scene, as well as the family dog.
Though the result of this fire is devastating, it is believed to be an accident.

Sheriff Cottom said, “we have no reason to believe that there is foul play in this particular tragedy.”

The cause of the fire is still under investigation but in cases like this,  finding the answers is challenging.

Chief Quilliams said, “it is very difficult to determine a cause or an origin when there is little left to work with to go back and rebuild or to rule things out.”

Officials are waiting to release the identities of the victims until the completion of the autopsies.