Pastor dies in vacation house fire along with his two daughters and three granddaughters after running into inferno to save his family

A Wisconsin pastor has died in a devastating house fire which killed five other members of his family after he ran back into the blaze to try and save his grandkids.

Steve Witte, 66, died along with his daughter Charis Kuehl, 38, and her daughter Stella, five, his other daughter Lydia Witte, 35, and two other grandchildren, Lena and Merci Henselin.

The blaze broke out at his Necedah vacation rental near the Wisconsin Dells on Sunday where there was family gathering taking place. It is not clear what caused the fire.

The pastor initially made it to safety, but he ran back to try and save two of his granddaughters after realizing they were still inside, Witte's friend Pastor Larry Schlomer told WMTV.

'It was such a tremendous loss, that many deaths within the same family,' he said.

Wisconsin pastor Steve Witte (pictured with wife Mary) has died in a devastating house fire which killed six members of his family after he ran back into the inferno to try and save his grandkids

'It was startling. We live our life being ready for that moment when we get to meet our Savior, but when it happens like this, it is a startling moment.' 

The family had gathered to spend time with Witte after he had returned home from a mission in Asia.

The pastor was lead of the Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod Asia Missions Team.

'His wife, Mary, his children, those were so important,' Schlomer added. 'That's why they were gathered so they could enjoy some time while he was back from his mission field. 

The heartbroken survivors are now in the position of having to plan six funerals. Two fundraisers have been set up to assist.

A GoFundMe has been established for Kuehl's widow and her two surviving children, as well a GiveSendGo for Lena and Merci's family.

Mom Charis Kuehl tragically died along with her youngest daughter Stella, aged five

Pastor Witte's other daughter Lydia Witte was among the victims, along with her three nieces

The Henselin's grief is compounded by the loss of their son Joel, 12, in a freak strangulation accident less than a year ago.

Hannah and Karl Henselin have now lost three children in the space of a year. 

'The pain of losing six members of one family cannot be described with words,' WELS president Mark Schroder said.

'By God's grace, a number of other family members survived. As of now, there are many unanswered questions; authorities continue to investigate.' 

The Juneau County Sheriff's Office said they were called to the property at around 2.25am on Sunday.

The house was fully engulfed in flames with two to three people trapped inside.

The Juneau County Sheriff's Office said they were called to the property at around 2.25am on Sunday

Fire crews found three people trapped inside and battled the flames for around three hours

As they led away survivors from the building, they told officers six people were missing.

Fire crews battled the flames for three hours in total and those inside could not be saved.

Neighbor Ken Zielinski said the flames were up to 20 feet into the air.

'During the day, we are close by, so we heard the kids playing in the pool and now... it's a shame,' he told WBAY.