STEPHENS Co., Okla_ A Stephens County family was left without a home Thursday
after a fire destroyed their mobile home overnight.
Six volunteer
fire departments were called to the blaze near Townley Road and the Comanche-Stephens County
line a little after midnight. A fire investigator said it was started by a
space heater sitting next to clothes in the master bathroom of the house. He said
the clothes became overheated and ignited with the family still inside.
The family is
upset about the fire, but is more than happy to see no one was hurt or trapped
inside when flames broke out. Now, all they want to do is find a way to move
on.
Matthew Quisenberry
said he was in his bedroom talking with his mother, Shelly before the fire
broke out. He said he could hear a loud beeping in the house, but he didn't
know where it was coming from.
"She
didn't think nothing of it," Matthew said. "She went to go let the dog out, and
I went to the kitchen to check my food."
He never made
it to the kitchen; something coming from his mom's bedroom caught his eye.
"I saw
smoke coming out," Matthew said. "I yelled to her telling her I saw
smoke."
Shelly said
when she heard her son yell from inside the house, she quickly ran inside and
saw for herself what was going on.
"When I
turned to the back part of the house," Shelly said, "I could see the smoke
coming out of the vents from the bedroom and underneath the door."
She said all
she could think about was getting her kids out safe, and she did.
"I didn't
know how bad it was or where the fire was," Shelly said. "I knew it was back in
my bedroom somewhere, but you never know how fast they're going to move."
Oklahoma State Fire
Marshal Field Agent Judah Sheppard said although luck played a role in helping
everyone get out safely, the family also deserves some credit, since their
smoke detectors were working.
"They're
very lucky they were awake," Sheppard said. "They had smoke detectors in the
home, and they were the hardwire kind. They followed the guidelines and actually
had battery backups in them. So, they had notification. They got out, and that
is the best part of all of it."
He said if
anyone has to rely on a space heater to keep warm this winter, always remember
one rule.
"Put them
at proper distances away from any clothing or fabric," Sheppard said. "They
require a minimum of three feet to be used."
A lesson this
family learned the hard way.
"It could
have been a lot worse," Matthew said.
"Just thank God
we got out," Shelly said.
Sheppard said
never plug in space heaters to extension cords or surge protectors. They need
to be plugged directly into the wall socket because of the amount of
electricity needed.
The home is a
complete loss. The family is staying with other family members for the time
being.
