COMANCHE CO., Okla_ Investigators are now looking into the cause of that fire we told you about Monday near Fletcher.
The fire broke out just around 4:00 AM at a house on Keeney Road. Homeowner Marvin Dees said
he was in Oklahoma City
when it happened. His brother, who is also his neighbor, noticed flames coming
from the house and called 911. Dees said when
he got the news, he raced home. He said he was not prepared for seeing his
two-story home of almost 40 years reduced to rubble.
Usually this
type of thing may break a person's spirit, but Dees
said his biggest fear was that one of his four daughters, who he raised on his
own in that house, was inside the house during the fire. He said once he found
out they were alright, he was able to come to terms with what happened. He said
this fire may have destroyed his house, but it did not destroy his life.
"Everything
in the world goes through your mind," Dees
said. "I was putting it on speed control, because occasionally, you get to
thinking and you do floorboard them. I did that."
Dees said by the
time he arrived at his home, it was engulfed in flames. He said firefighters
even had to chop down this tree right here, which he and his daughter had
planted, because it caught on fire. He said by the time the flames were
extinguished, his two-story, 2,800 square foot home was destroyed.
"You see a
lifetime of work and dreams go up in smoke," Dees
said. "As I've said before, it's a shame to get knocked down and a sin to stay
there. So, this is not going to get us down. We're just going to go from here."
He said he's
got a wonderful network of support, but there are still moments that he longs
for his home.
"That's
what I have," Dees said. "So, you just make do
with what you've got. I went to my brother's house and spent the night, and I
was very comfortable. Their home is my home, but you miss having that place to
go lay down. You miss your home. I've got to build another one, and it'll come.
It will be there."
Dees said despite
his situation, he considers himself blessed. He's got his family, friends and
memories that can never be destroyed. Dees said
his fondest memory of his home is when he and his four daughters were
remodeling it together. He said he does plan on building another home at that
site.
