LE SUEUR COUNTY, Minn. — The Le Sueur County Sheriff said an "electrical component" likely caused a house fire that killed an elderly couple last Sunday.
The Montgomery Fire Department was one of four departments that responded to a 911 call at nearly 1 a.m. and discovered Betty, 73, and Roman Jindra, 76, dead in their kitchen. The sheriff said Betty had called to say the couple was trapped inside.
The first responders said they tried to enter the house but were driven back by heat and heavy smoke. Firefighters were able to put the fire out and vented smoke from the home.
"They were the most kind, genuine and heartwarming people," said their niece McKayla Weston-Walters.
She described Betty as a boisterous woman who never turned down a garage sale and Roman volunteered at the local church. The two celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary last summer.
"When you saw Betty and Roman together, you knew they were in love," said Weston-Walters.
The fire chief says his department hasn't responded to such a deadly house fire in decades. The county is offering critical stress de-briefing for anyone who was on the scene.
"I think everyone is in shock," said Weston-Walters. "They don't really know how to move forward yet."
The couple's funeral is Tuesday at St. John Lutheran Church in Montgomery. The family is asking for financial donations to support their only daughter to help with funeral expenses. You can click here for more information.
The Ramsey County Medical Examiner's Office will autopsy the bodies to determine their cause and manner of death in the coming days.
The cause of the fire is still under investigation, according to the Minnesota State Fire Marshall.