Firefighters hold back single mother as she watched home burn to the ground with her four sons inside

The aftermath of a fire that killed the four Otto siblings in Lake Ozark. Photo / AP

A Missouri mother was held back and forced to watch her home burn down as her four children perished inside early Thursday morning.

The deadly fire engulfed the Lake Ozark, Missouri home at 1am Thursday.

Mother Tina Brazil was out with her boyfriend Mike Andrews and left her three young children in the care of her eldest son Tyler Otto, 14.

The boys were home alone when the fire blazed. 14-year-old Tyler Otto, 8-year-old Carson Otto; 5-year-old Max Otto and 4-year-old Levi Otto. Photo / Facebook

When she arrived home and saw the inferno she went 'beserk' and firefighters had to restrain the couple from rescuing the children inside the burning building, saying that the blaze was too dangerous.

"My children! My kids! My kids!" she screamed, according to The Kansas City Star.

Boyfriend Andrews tried to enter the home to rescue the children and had to be restrained by five firefighters.

The four children Tyler, Carson Otto, eight, Max Otto, five, and Levi Otto, four, were inside during the fire.

Fire officials said the children and two pets were found dead inside.

Neighbour Eddie Helt discovered the fire when he woke up just before 1am smelling smoke. He then alerted his wife to call 911.

He tried to enter the house but was buckled back by the intense heat.

"There was nothing you could do," Helt said on the tragedy.

Lake Ozark Fire Protection District were dispatched at 12:51 but when they arrived on the scene they could not enter the home as the back of the structure was near collapse.

Brazil and boyfriend Mike Andrews, who tried to rescue the children from the burning home, are pictured above in an image from June 2017. Photo / Facebook

Crews tried to search the property but the fire was too intense for them the enter.

Birdsley says a neighbor told firefighters it appeared the residents weren't home because their vehicle was gone. But it was just a short time later that Brazil arrived on the scene.

By the times the flames were extinguished and firefighters were able to enter the crumbling structure, it was too late.

The cause of the fire is under investigation, but officials do not suspect arson. It is unclear if the residence was equipped with working smoke detectors.

Local police said the deceased boys' parents will not be charged in the deadly fire, reported Fox2Now.

On Thursday evening Brazil took to social media to mourn the loss of her four children.

"My babies. I don't have any words to say how we are all feeling. . . .Tyler was my Tyler-man. Soccer and the biggest do-gooder heart I've ever seen. Cason bug was my smarty pants early talker, artist and avid reader," she wrote.

The boys smile with father Travis Otto in Springfield, Missouri. Photo / Facebook

"Monster Max popped off with some of the funniest things ever at the most random moments and was a crazy awesome dancer and had the biggest imagination I've ever seen. Levi was my little nugget who would say, "Mommy, I love you, Mommy," at least 50 times a day," she added.

Brazil's relative Lindsey VanPelt was at the scene of the fire and will make funeral arrangements for the children.

She described the children as a children with 'hearts of gold'.

"They grew up in a fun-loving family. They always had smiles on their faces. They could turn anything into a good time. They just had hearts of gold," VanPelt said.

Brazil's sister Angie Lawrence said that the mom is left 'heartbroken' with the devastating loss.

"She lost everything. They were her life. Our lives are never going to be the same without them," she said.

She did not clarify why the children had been left alone.

"Honestly, I just want to leave that out because I don't want her to hear the criticism. … She has been through enough," she said.

The boys spent several weekends and three weeks each summer with their father Travis Otto.

Mother Tina Brazil pictured above with her four children in an image from May 2017. Photo / Facebook

After Brazil and Otto divorced he moved in with his father in Westphalia.

His father Kenneth Otto, the grandfather of the children, said that the father is 'numb'.

"He said, 'Dad, I just need to get outside'. You're just numb. There's nothing you can say, there's just – there's just nothing. You can lose everything in the snap of your finger,' he said to The Kansas City Star.

The fire department said that a preliminary investigation indicated that an ember from a nearby barbecue may have ignited the fire that is believed to have started on the facade of the home.

Fire officials speaking at a press conference Thursday afternoon said that the fire likely blazed unnoticed for a period of time. Officials added that winds off the lake likely contributed to the growth of the blaze.

No smoke detectors were discovered in the wreckage but officials said they could have been destroyed in the fire.

All of the children were students at the School of the Osage.

The school released a statement Thursday saying: "School of the Osage is saddened today about the loss of four of our students in a house fire early this morning. Additional counseling support is available for students impacted."