Family Left With Nothing After Fire Destroys Sapulpa Home

A fire in Sapulpa destroyed several vehicles, killed a dog and left a wife and husband with nowhere to stay, and no belongings.

The fire also forced firefighters to take extra precautions while working in the heat.

The fire started from an electrical problem with a light inside a shed. It caught so fast, if it wasn't for a quick-thinking neighbor, the toll could be much worse.

Towering smoke filled the air in Sapulpa around 9:30 a.m. Thursday, July 20. It was seen for miles, including from downtown Tulsa.

Dexter Eurit just brought a coffee to his neighbor, Cora Arneecher; when he stepped back outside he smelled smoke.

“I looked around and I see fire dripping from a light fixture," he said.

Arneecher said, "The electric just went off and he yelled 'Hey, you're on fire.'"

Eurit saw a light fixture on fire inside a shed dripping melted plastic onto a foam rubber seat.

"It hit the foam rubber, and it started immediately getting higher and higher,” he said.

They tried to move the seat and get water, but the fire forced them to move back.

"I go and try to get the water and I slid…I seen it go up real fast. And I just went in and grabbed my dog and my purse," Arneecher said.

The fire forcing them both back.

Eurit said, "She was barefooted and in shorts. She really couldn't do too much."

Firefighters arrived within three minutes and find a lot of damage.

"RV on fire, multiple cars and another RV trying to catch," Captain Forrest Fields with Sapulpa Fire said.

The shed had burned down by the time crews could put the flames out.

Arneecher: "This is my first fire ever."
Marty: "I'm so sorry."
Arneecher: "We just lost everything."

To stay safe, crews rotated shifts and kept each other hydrated.

"Make sure you start hydrating, even when you don't think you need to be drinking water, you need to be drinking water all day," Fields said.

Arneecher was able to save one dog but another didn't make it. She's left now with no clothes, no shoes, and is struggling to comprehend the loss.

"I just lost everything, and my husband is in rehab,” she said.

Red Cross has been called to assist, but if you would like to help, you can call her cell at 918-984-7998.