Four young brothers died in a rural Manitoba farmhouse fire early Wednesday, despite their parents’ efforts to save them.

The boys, identified by friends and neighbours as nine-year-old Henry, 10-year-old Danny, 12-year-old Timmy and 15-year-old Bobby Froese, were sleeping on the second level of the house near Kane, Man., when the fire broke out shortly after midnight on Wednesday.

Their 34-year-old mother managed to escape with three of her youngest children, but was unable to reach her older sons.

Fire officials said the children’s father, who was returning from work with the family’s oldest son, saw smoke coming from the house and called 911. He, too, tried to save the four boys, but the fire was too intense.

Both parents were later taken to hospital with smoke inhalation. The Canadian Press reports that friends have identified the couple as Jake Froese and Doralee Eberhardt.

The couple’s youngest children, aged two, five and eight, are currently staying with a family friend.

Volunteer firefighters were called to the property, located between the communities of Kane and Morris, southwest of Winnipeg, around 12:15 a.m.

Fire Chief Bernard Schellenberg told reporters that the intense heat also prevented volunteer fire crews from entering the farmhouse to rescue the children.

When firefighters arrived at the scene, the walls of an addition to the house had already collapsed, he said.

Fire crews tried to put a ladder up to the second floor of the home but were unable to enter due to the heat. The entire farmhouse eventually burned to the ground.

The mayor of Morris said multiple fire departments responded to the call but their fire halls were not close to the home.

"It is in a reasonably remote location," Mayor Gavin Van Der Linde said. "We find that does affect response time."

Van Der Linde could not confirm the ages of the children but did say they were attending two different schools in the area. He said he expects the community to rally around the family during their hardship.

The cause of the fire is under investigation.

Volunteer firefighters are being offered support services to help them deal with the tragedy.

“As tough as we seem, we are aching inside for the family,” Schellenberg said.

Reeve Ralph Groening said there have been many offers of help for the family from the small community. He said someone has already offered the family a house to stay in.

An Access Credit Union account has also been set up to collect donations for the family. More information is available on the municipality of Morris’ website.

With files from CTV Winnipeg and the Canadian Press