A tragic house fire in Maysville, Kentucky resulted in the death of Sgt. Lori A. Doppelheuer and all three of her children. Doppelheuer’s last act was to charge straight into the burning house to rescue her kids from the blaze.

Doppelheuer’s children were aged 1, 3 and 10 years old. Their father survived the fire, which spread throughout their street and left 30 people without homes.

Witnesses report that Doppelheuer initially got out of the house and yelled at firefighters that her kids were still inside. She then ran back inside to get them herself.

Doppelheuer enlisted in the Marine Corps as a food service specialist in 1999 and served with the Marine Wing Support Group 27 until 2003. She had earned the Marine Corps Good Conduct Medal, National Defense Service Medal and a Sea Service Deployment Ribbon.