2 Die in House Fire in Bastrop County

myFOXaustin (Austin) - Earnest Harkins sifted through the rubble left by a house fire Saturday. The blaze killed both his parents and destroyed the home he shared with them.

He said he was on his way from Dallas to Bastrop at the time the fire broke out. It was actually neighbors like Sam Risinger who called 911 and went over to help.
 

"It was billowing up and a tremendous amount of black and white smoke." said Risinger. Risinger said he tried to get in the house, but windows were shattering. The structure was quickly crumbling. The only thing he could do to prevent an explosion was to move cars away from the garage which at the time was also igniting. "The house was still engulfed but there was no way to get in." Risinger said.
 

The fire claimed two lives, according to the Bastrop County Sheriff's Office. Earnest confirms it was his mother 86-year-old Mary Beth and his father 87-year-old Claud Harkins.

Risinger said 4 volunteer Fire Departments showed up to help, but it was too late. The only survivor was a small dog says Risinger, "They found the little chihuahua that apparently had escaped from a doggie door."
 

Family members tell us Claud Harkins had health issues, his charred wheelchair is now a part of the debris. A tragic end, a neighbor says, for a couple he had recently come to know.

Investigators have not released the cause of the fire yet.