One by one, the soot-blackened firefighters trudged up the rain-slickened driveway.

Heads down. Eyes tearing. Hearts broken.

"We tried to save them," sobbed Colerain Township Capt. Steve Fortunski as he fell into the arms of Dan Meloy, the township''s police chief.

"We tried. We tried."

But their best efforts were in vain. Two of their own, 37-year-old Capt. Robin Broxterman and 29-year-old firefighter Brian Schira, died in a Friday morning house fire. Investigators attributed their deaths to "a catastrophic structural failure" that trapped them inside the house.

Word of the firefighters'' deaths echoed up and down Squirrels Nest Lane - where the fire took place in the township''s Dunlap neighborhood - and reverberated throughout the community and across the nation.

"This is not just a sad day for our street," said Janice Figgins, a neighbor of Matt and Sharyn Cones, the owners who safely escaped their fire-stricken house before fire crews arrived. "This touches our entire township."

Even before the firefighters'' deaths were officially announced just after 11 a.m. Friday, flags were lowered to half-staff throughout the close-knit community, from the township''s administration building to the top of Mount Rumpke in the Rumpke Sanitary Landfill, the highest spot in Hamilton County.

Broxterman, a 17-year veteran whose mom, Arlene Zang, once served as a firefighter, was the township''s first female captain.

Always helping her fellow firefighters like a substitute mom, the mother of two children was engaged to be married to Don Patterson, a Green Township firefighter who responded.

Colleagues led him away in tears when he learned of Broxterman''s death.

Schira was hired as a part-time firefighter last November. He also served in that capacity with the Delhi Township Fire Department while working a full-time job at Home Depot.

Both firefighters were members of Colerain Township Engine Company 102.

Their bodies were found in the basement of the two-story, four-bedroom house built in 1991 and valued at $224,500. Fire officials think the floor collapsed upon the firefighters after they arrived in the basement, said Capt. Steve Conn.

The fire - which drew firefighters from at least 10 area departments - was first reported coming from 5708 Squirrels Nest Lane at 6:10 a.m. Smoke and fire and carbon monoxide detectors had set off an automatic alarm, immediately dispatching firefighters.

The response was so swift, Sharyn Cones expressed surprise to a 911 operator that she could already hear the sirens of the fire trucks as she called to report a fire in her basement.

Matt Cones tried to fight the blaze with a fire extinguisher, Conn said. No luck. The Cones ran from their house and sought shelter with a neighbor, Marsha Ferguson.

They were "pretty shaken up," Ferguson said, "but not injured."

A four-person fire unit, including Broxterman and Schira, responded from Dunlap''s Station 102. The firehouse is less than a half-mile from Squirrels Nest Lane. While the firefighters were en route, the county dispatcher notified them it was a "working structure fire." This was not a false alarm. More units were dispatched.

First to arrive at the scene, at 6:24 a.m., Broxterman and Schira went inside. The other two firefighters remained outside.

"Making entry into the basement," Broxterman said on a radio transmission. "Heavy smoke."

Firefighters spent at least a minute discussing the need to send water through the hose and into the basement.

The discussion ended with: "Engine 102 is ready for water!"

Seconds later, firefighters told a commander to order Broxterman and Schira out of the house, because "conditions are changing."

The order was given at 6:37 a.m. No response.

Two minutes later, the commander on the scene sends out a "Mayday" call.

A rapid assistance team of firefighters responded in minutes to the Mayday call. The team is trained to rescue downed firefighters.

The team members battled their way into the house. They found Broxterman and Schira in the basement at 7:10 a.m.

The last Colerain Township firefighter to die in the line of duty was Charles Palm in 1977. He suffered a massive heart attack at the scene of a house fire. His son, Chuck Palm, was among the firefighters responding to Friday''s blaze.

The deaths are the year''s first among line-of-duty firefighters in Ohio, said Shane Cartmill, spokesman for the state fire marshal.

In 2007, five Ohio firefighters died on the job.

Since 1990, a total of 2,248 firefighters have died while on duty in the United States. Of these, 2,184 were men and 64 (counting Broxterman) were women, said Molly McPherson, spokeswoman for the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

Broxterman is the first female fire captain to die in the line of duty since statistics were first compiled in 1990.

The deaths of Schira and Broxterman rocked Colerain''s 180-member fire department. At the Dunlap firehouse, dozens of people gathered in the hours after the tragedy.

"This is a nightmare we''re living through," said firefighter Kevin Kelsey. The 15-year Colerain veteran and member of Station 102 held a dozen freshly cut yellow daffodils someone had placed at the base of the firehouse''s sign.

"Everybody knew Robin; she helped everybody. Brian was a new guy," Kelsey added as he returned the flowers to the base of the sign Broxterman and Schira passed on their final run.

"Both of them were professionals. They knew exactly what they were supposed to do at that fire."

Just Thursday morning, Conn worked with the crew that responded to Friday''s fire.

"The last thing we said to each other," Conn recalled, "was: ''Be careful.'' "

William Kramer, director of the Fire Science Education bachelor''s degree program at the University of Cincinnati, had Broxterman in his classes. He went to join firefighters at Station 102 Friday morning.

He praised the Colerain Township Fire Department as professional and progressive.

"Despite the fact that you do everything right and follow all the safety precautions," Kramer said, "on some days, things can go bad."

The state''s top fire investigator arrived Friday afternoon. State Fire Marshal Michael P. Bell said about 10 people from his office were assisting local officials in the investigation.

Officials said the investigation was still in its early stages. Several days could pass before they know what happened. Speculation centers on a floor or stairwell collapsing.

Scores of people have posted messages on The Enquirer''s Web site praising Schira and Broxterman as heroes and consoling their families, friends and fellow firefighters.

"Just wanted you to know our love, thoughts and prayers are with all the families and friends of the lost firemen," wrote Gary and Debbie Kramer of Colerain Township. "Our son belongs to the Colerain Township Fire Department and we are so proud of him and all the firemen who put their lives on the line for all of us in our community every day."

People from different parts of the country sent e-mails. A member of the fire department in New Madrid, Mo., expressed his condolences.

"Your loss is felt all across the nation among all firefighters," Jim Russell wrote. "They are our Brother and Sister and will be missed."

Tentative plans call for services for the firefighters to be held at Spring Grove Cemetery. Conn said the day and time have not been set.

Tyrone Patrick rushed to the Colerain Township Fire Department''s headquarters when he learned of the tragedy. He serves as a chaplain for the Cincinnati Fire Department.

Patrick spent several hours counseling the dead firefighters'' colleagues.

"I was just there for support," said the pastor of North Fairmount''s Pleasant Grove Missionary Baptist Church.

Some of the firefighters wanted to talk. Others didn''t.

"It was like a grieving family," Patrick said. "When someone you love perishes, you''re in a state of shock and disbelief."

He encouraged the distraught firefighters to avoid digesting "the whole thing at once because it''s overwhelming."

"I told them God will get them through it."

After the firefighters'' bodies were found, members of Engine Company 102 knelt in the street. They bowed their heads in silent prayer.

Two ambulances sat at the bottom of a driveway. Broxterman''s body was gently placed in one. Schira''s was placed in the other.

During this solemn process, neighbor Janice Figgins ushered a group of students wearing high school sweatshirts and backpacks to their bus stop.

Threading their way up the street, they stepped over a yellow fire hose and past grieving firefighters.

The students'' fresh, youthful faces contrasted with the pained, forlorn looks on the faces the firefighters sitting on the wet street and leaning on their fire trucks.

After the students passed, the ambulances'' sad journey began.

As the vehicles moved up the driveway, firefighters removed their helmets and bowed their heads. Some patted the sides of the ambulances.

"Crew! Attention!" an officer shouted with a shaky voice.

Members of Engine Company 102 rose to their feet.

The firefighters formed a straight line and stood even straighter. And they gave their sister and brother the day''s final salute.