Home fire kills three at Elk City

Three people – a man, woman and their small child, believed to be about 2½ years old – died in a disastrous home fire Wednesday afternoon at Elk City.
Names of the victims had not been disclosed as of noon Thursday, nor had the ages of the adult victims.
The fire occurred in a trailer house at the Cedar Village Mobile Home Park in the 1900 block of Seventh Street in the southwest part of town. Six people were believed to be living in the mobile home, but only four were home at the time.
Besides the three victims, KECO Radio reported the fourth to be Randle Lee, 67, who it said was the owner and was asleep in the back part of the house. He told the radio station he believed that his daughter, her common-law husband and their small child were in another part of the residence.
Lee apparently  tried to get to them but was unsuccessful. He told Paragon News that smoke was in his bedroom when he awoke, and he went down the hall to check on the others but that when he touched their doorknob it burned his hand. Indications were that he did get the door open but the flames forced him back.
Billy Sizemore, assistant chief of the Elk City Fire Department, said the station received the call at 2:44 p.m. Wednesday. He said he was on the scene at 2:47 and a fire truck was there at 2:50.
Cause of the fire had not been definitely determined as of noon Thursday.
“It’s undetermined the exact cause, but It looks like the possibility of an electrical overload,” said Sizemore. “That’s just a possibility at this point.”
A state fire marshal from Lawton came and helped investigate the blaze.
“A state medical examiner took everything to Oklahoma City,” said Sizemore. “They’ll be releasing reports.”
Asked if there were smoke detectors in the trailer, Sizemore said, “Not that we could find. We haven’t got to interview the grandpa yet, but we were unable to find any during our investigation.”
Witnesses reportedly saw one man exit the mobile home, and said he may have gone back inside. However, Sizemore said that was never confirmed.
Besides the victims and Lee, others living in the home were reported to be Lee’s wife and a 12-year-old child. The wife was reported to be away at work at the time, and the child was believed to be with friends.