Families left without homes just days before Christmas after grass fire spreads to duplexes
OKLAHOMA CITY (KFOR) - Several families lost their homes after a grass fire spread to two residential structures Wednesday afternoon.
Laquan Patterson and Terry Gaines, both single fathers, are roommates who lost everything.
"We worked had for this. I’m glad my kids weren’t here at the time. I wish this on nobody," Gains said. "It’s hard, it’s a hard pill to swallow."
"Somehow [the grass fire] launched a couple sparks over here, maybe, and next thing you know our chimney was just up in flames," Patterson said. "I fell running down the stairs, because it was like really close to me."
Damage inside one of the units Damage upstairs in unit
78-year-old Linda Faatz and her son and great-grandchild also lost everything.
"All the living things are alive, that’s what counts most. But it’s devastating, furniture’s gone, clothes gone," Faatz said. "To have a home and be homeless, in one day, in one day, that’s terrifying for anybody."
She says she's never been through anything like this in her life.
"At 78, how do you start over?" she said.
Down the street, some neighbors only have minor damage to their fence, but the fire was still a scary situation.
"I had opened up the garage door and went inside, and saw huge flames coming out and heading towards our area," Mike McCurley said. "I was telling my daughters, 'hurry up, we need to hurry, we need to get out of here!'"
"We had left all of our kids’ Christmas presents here, took what little cash we could muster up, and left," Elisa McCurley said.
Gaines' and Patterson's friend has started a GoFundMe for them. Click here for it.
They say they are staying with family members for now. Faatz says she's staying in a hotel until she can get to her other son out of state.