MAGNOLIA, Texas — Firefighters rushed to a house fire in Magnolia Friday morning but weren't able to save the two people inside.
Flames had already spread through the small home on Woodway St. near FM 1486 when crews arrived around 3 a.m.
They found an unconscious woman near the front door, pulled her out and gave her CPR but she didn't survive, Magnolia Fire Chief Jeff Hevey said.
A man was found dead a few feet away from the door.
Family members identified the couple as Sondra McKinsey Grant and Ervin Grant, both in their 60s. They said they were former trail riders and she was once a barrel racer. Relatives describe the victims as kind and said they were loved by many.
The fire started in the back of the home so they believe the couple was trying to get out the front door but a deadbolt that locked from the inside trapped them.
"I'm not a fan of having to use a key on the inside of the house to get out the door," Hevey said. "You should be able to use your thumb, turn and get out of the house fast, because you never know where your keys are."
The chief said 25 to 30 firefighters from Magnolia and Montgomery responded to the scene.
Montgomery County Fire Marshal Jimmy Williams said four people have died in countywide fires in the last month, three of them in Montgomery.
Hevey stressed the importance of smoke alarms and said they can be the difference between life and death.
"If you awake and you're already choking on the smoke and the smoke is what woke you up, you're time is greatly reduced to get out of the house," Hevey said.
Family members said the home on Woodway had them but Williams said they hadn't determined if there were working alarms.
He encourages residents with double-keyed deadbolts to replace them with a single-cylinder lock or leave the key inside the lock for quick access.
The cause of the fire is under investigation.