Fire department fights two house fires over holiday break

By Joshua Allen
Staff Reporter

The Okemah Fire Department were called out to two house fires in as many days just as last year came to a close. 

Fire Chief Roy Neal said the first of the two fires took place December 30 on South 5th Street where a two-story house had caught fire somewhere in the upstairs area. 

The upstairs was lost to the flames, while the downstairs mainly suffered water damage from the firefighter’s hose.

Neal explained the grandson of the home’s owners pulled into the drive, noticed the house was on fire and promptly got his grandmother and grandfather out of the structure. 

Firefighters fought the blaze for five to six hours, Neal said. 

The second of the two fires took place in an area on 1080 Road — between State Highways 56 and 62 on Highway 48 — on December 31. 

This one resulted in a total loss, Neal said.

“We were only there for about an hour and a half to two hours on that one,” the fire chief said. “No one was home, and we didn’t get out there until it was basically already gone.” 

No injuries were sustained in either fire.