A pair of deputies saved two children at the scene of a house fire in Centennial on Sunday, resulting in three injured first responders and six missing pets.

The two Arapahoe County Sheriff’s Office deputies were treated for injuries after they saved two children from the back of a home along the 4800 block of S Gibraltar Lane, according to a South Metro Fire Rescue (SMFR) thread on social media platform X.

According to SMFR, one south metro firefighter was transported to the hospital.

The house fire was first reported at 11:53 a.m. for a “heavy fire” that rescue officials said firefighters activated “defensive mode” for.

All occupants of the home are accounted for and have evacuated, according to South Metro Fire Rescue.

Rescue officials posted at 12:57 p.m. that the fire was under control. Authorities added the two injured deputies were treated and released at the scene, while the injured firefighter was transported to the hospital.

One dog and five cats are “unaccounted for,” officials said in the latest posting.

According to South Metro Fire Rescue, multiple agencies assisted at the scene of the blaze, including the Aurora Fire Department, Arapahoe County Sheriff’s Office, and Arapahoe Rescue Patrol.

South Metro Fire Rescue’s Marshal’s Office continues to investigate what caused the fire, the department says.

Arapahoe County Sheriff Deputies Ryan McConnell and Christopher Calderón arrived at the scene first.

They told The Denver Gazette the response included the rescue of a young girl and boy.

“I saw smoke coming from the house and didn’t hear anything at first, went up to the door, I heard screaming,” McConnell said. “Once I got to the door, I pushed open, got a big plume of smoke to my face, and then heard screaming coming from the backyard, at which point me and Chris went around the side of the house, where we saw the two kids that were in the backyard.”

The deputies said the children were the only occupants of the home. Both children were carried over the neighbors fence individually, due to the mounting debris caused by the flames, according to their account of the rescue.

An Arapahoe County Sheriff’s Office spokesperson said the extent of both deputy’s injuries was smoke inhalation.

Calderon said all that mattered was “to make sure that we do everything possible we can do to help whoever needs it.”

“I signed up for this job and put on this uniform to help people, and not gonna shy away from it if anyone needs to be helped,” McConnell added.

South Metro Fire Rescue’s Marshal’s Office continues to investigate what caused the fire, according to the fire department.

The condition of the injured firefighter remains unknown.