Bernadine Pruessner: Missouri woman found dead alongside her 4 children and dogs in suspicious house fire

FERGUSON, MISSOURI: A tragic house fire in Ferguson, Missouri, claimed the lives of a mother, her four children, and three dogs on Monday morning, February 19.

The fire is being investigated as "suspicious" by the authorities as investigators reportedly found "evidence of criminal activity at the scene."

Neighbors tried to save Bernadine Pruessner, her children, and their dogs

The fire broke out around 4.20 am at the home of Bernadine Pruessner, who was known as “Birdie” to her friends and neighbors. Thick, black smoke was visible for miles, according to Fox 2.

Jerry McClure, a neighbor, said he tried to kick the front door, but the flames were too intense.

“The smoke was so bad. I tried to kick the front door,” he said, adding “We just couldn’t wake them up,” St Louis Post Dispatch reported.

Firefighters arrived at the scene and found the bodies of five people and three dogs inside the home.

Bernadine Pruessner's children who died in house fire were aged between two to nine years

The victims were identified by Cordell Beache, Pruessner’s father, as Pruessner and her four children: Ellie and Ivy Pruessner, nine-year-old twins, Jackson Spader, five, and Millie Spader, two.

Beache said his daughter was an "amazing person" who loved animals and education. “She was in early childhood education, and she did wonders with her children, who were very bright,” he said.

Before Monday, February 19, she posted that she had spent the previous night with her children, going to a reptile show, a soccer game, and camping out in their living room.

“Making today one of those live each day like it’s your last kind of days,” she wrote on Facebook. 

In one more previous poster she wrote, "Us against the world. I’m so blessed to be their mama." She said, [They] have overcome so much more in their little lives than they should have had to face."

In her last post she wrote, "All my kids, peacefully sleeping in my bed. Curled up together. Knowing they are loved so fiercely that I’d do absolutely anything for them. This is my favorite moment."

Bernadine Pruessner was a respected teacher and an author

Pruessner had a distinguished career as a teacher and an assistant professor.

She was a former math teacher at City Academy in St Louis, where she was named the Missouri Teacher of the Year in 2013 by the American Board, Miami Herald reported. 

She was also an assistant professor at Lewis and Clark Community College in Godfrey, Illinois, where she was working on her doctorate degree in early childhood education.

Pruessner was a published author and the founder of a nonprofit, Root Cause Agricultural Education Group.

“Birdie was a dear colleague and friend to all. She cared so deeply about her students and about helping others,” Lewis and Clark President Ken Trzaska said in a statement, reported by Metro East Star.

Dara Ashby of the Ferguson Animal Coalition said Pruessner was a treasure to the community.

“She was a wonderful person and loved her kids, loved her family, loved her animals,” Ashby said, according to KSDK. Pruessner’s family is trying to find new homes for the chickens and rabbits that survived the fire.

“None of this seems real, today has been really really hard. How could Birdie, Elly, Ivy, Jack and Millie be gone?” Allison Nichole Fox said in a Facebook post.

“Birdie was an incredible mother and had the brightest light always surrounding her,” Nichole added.