ADRIAN SAINZ
Associated Press Writer

ATOKA, Tenn. - A house fire in western Tennessee killed five people early Tuesday, including two young children and their parents, though two other boys escaped by kicking through a window.

The home was engulfed in flames when firefighters responded to a 2:30 a.m. call, Munford-Atoka Fire Chief J.R. Bonson said. They knew people were in the house and repeatedly tried to rescue them but the flames were too intense, he said.

"This is definitely the worst case I've seen," he said. "It definitely affects you psychologically."

The victims were not immediately identified by authorities, but police gave their ages: 1, 2, 27, 31 and 48. Police Chief Jessie Poole said the mother of the children was among the dead.

Brandon Byrd, the father of two boys who escaped the blaze, said authorities told him the victims included his estranged wife Desiree Vinas, her boyfriend Chris Akins, and two children Vinas and Akins had together. Byrd said he and his wife were separated but not divorced.

Byrd, who lives in the neighboring town of Munford, said he received a 3 a.m. phone call from his older son Devon, 12, about the fire. Andon, 6, also escaped.

"He told me the house was on fire and he had to kick the window out, and he's safe and his brother's safe, but he's not sure about Mama," Byrd said.

"I'm very thankful my sons were able to get out," he said. "But I loved everyone who lived in that house."

Neighbor Patricia Parimore said the boys came to her house after escaping and Devon Byrd had been cut.

"He had blood all over his little legs," she said. "Right now they need their daddy, because that's what's going to help them through this," she said.

Byrd, who was paralyzed in a 2004 trampoline accident, said he recently lost his home nursing care through TennCare, the state's expanded Medicaid program.

"I have to raise them two boys on my own now," he said. "Without Tennessee's help, they're going to have to put me in a nursing home and they won't have their mother or their father."

Atoka is a town of about 7,500 people in Tipton County about 25 miles northeast of Memphis.

Brett Giannini, a town alderman, said he lives two miles from the home, located along a rural, pastoral road.

"Anytime you lose any life it's a terrible thing," he said. "We're a very tight-knit community."

"We need to find out if there's anything that could have prevented this and get that information out to the people," he said.

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