Family Members Remember Father, Lost In NW OKC House Fire

We're learning more Saturday night about an Oklahoma City man who died in a trailer fire three weeks ago.

Family members of 31-year-old Steven Jenkins describe him as a devoted father who loved music and loved to make people laugh. They say he was the glue of the family, and with him gone, things will never be the same.

Jenkins was a loving husband and father of six children. It's still hard for his family to believe he's gone.

"When something like this happens, it just throws you into kind of like a reality check that things like this can happen," says Sylvia Hernandez, the mother of two of Jenkins' children.

Hernandez met Jenkins when she was 11 years old, and they dated throughout high school. So when Jenkins' mother called Hernandez around 3 a.m. on March 2, she knew it was bad.

"She told me and of course my screaming woke the kids up," Hernandez said. "That was the hardest thing telling them about their dad."

3/2/2013 Related Story: One Person Killed In Travel Trailer Fire In NW OKC

Firefighters found Jenkins' body inside a small trailer engulfed in flames near NW 28th and Drexel. The trailer was parked in front of Jenkins' home and the fire spread to his home and one other home.

Arson investigators believed the fire was accidental. Hernandez said she heard it was caused by a broken heater or maybe Jenkins was smoking inside the trailer and fell asleep.

"He used it as a man cave," Hernandez said. "Just somewhere to go play music and just hang out."

Now, Jenkins' wife and their four kids are all living with his mother, and Hernandez says bills are mounting and the family can't afford to give Jenkins a funeral.

"It's so tough now for the family without him around, and we constantly worry about how to pay for things," Hernandez said. "Because you only get one daddy, you know. And it's just a shame that his children are so young that they're not going to be able to grow up and know what kind of person he was."

Hernandez says the family set up a bank account in Jenkins honor. If you'd like to help his family, you can go to any Chase bank and donate under Nina Jenkins, his mother. The account number is: 2936-938-183.