Police are Robert Browninvestigating a suspicious fire near St. Louis that killed a woman and four children in what authorities are calling a "horrific tragedy."

Firefighters were called to a home in Ferguson at 4:23 a.m. Monday and found the building engulfed in flames. St. Louis County police Sgt. Tracy Panus said the five people who died were found inside the home.

Panus said in an email that "evidence located on the property" made the cause of the fire "suspicious," but she declined to elaborate. St. Louis Regional Bomb and Arson detectives are assisting in the investigation.

Police hadn't named the victims as of Tuesday morning but did describe them as a woman and four children.

Relatives and neighbors told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch that Bernadine Pruessner lived in the home with her four children. Pruessner's father, Cordell Beache, told the newspaper that his daughter was "an amazing person" with "very bright" children. Although he couldn't confirm whether they had died, he told the newspaper that he hadn't heard from them since the fire.

Beache said his daughter was close to receiving her doctorate in early childhood education. She was working as an assistant professor in the child development department at Lewis & Clark Community College in Godfrey, Illinois.

"She was just one of those people that if you were in a bad mood and you talked to her, she would make you feel a lot better," relative Tyler Justice told CBS affiliate KMOV-TV, adding: "They were some of the smartest, brightest kids you could have, and full of life just like she was."

Chickens and rabbits survived the fire, but three dogs died, police said. An animal rescue organization was at the house late in the afternoon to rescue 11 rabbits and two cats, KMOV-TV reported. 

The Ferguson Police Department posted more than a dozen images of the scene on social media, some of them showing firefighters battling the blaze.

"Tonight our hearts are heavy," the department said. "Please keep this family, our first responders and our community in your prayers as we all grapple with this horrific tragedy. Thank you to all of the responding houses and support teams for having our back."

Neighbor Jerry McClure said he woke up and saw flames. He called 911 and went with another neighbor to the house, where they found the home's south side of in flames.

"The smoke was so bad. I tried to kick the front door," McClure said. "We just couldn't wake them up."

Beache said he was with the family Sunday night to watch two of the children - twin 9-year-olds Ellie and Ivy Pruessner - play soccer. After that, they had dinner out together.

In addition to the twins, 5-year-old Jackson Spader and 2-year-old Millie Spader lived in the home, Beache told the Post-Dispatch.

"It felt like my heart just fell to the bottom of my stomach. And all I could really do was just pray," neighbor Jamie Young told KMOV-TV.

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• Missouri
• Fire