Family Salvages Christmas After Fire Destroys Home

By Jon Jordan, NEWS 9

WELSTON, Oklahoma -- A family having Thanksgiving dinner with their in-laws received a call that their home was destroyed in a fire. Now one month later, the family is still trying to pick up the pieces.

In only a matter of minutes, everything the Tony and Christina Stokes had worked for was gone, and the only thing they have left is each other.

While the outside of their Wellston trailer home is still somewhat intact, the inside of the Stokes' home is completely gutted from when fire fighters fought to put the fire out.

Fire investigators believe the fire may have been sparked by a bad electrical outlet.

"There was an outlet and the TV was right in front of the window, and I had a very large DVD case, and I can't even find a trace not even melted plastic from it, which tells me it pretty much incinerated everything that was right there," Tony Stokes said.

Tony and Christina had only been living at the home with their two children for about a year. Fortunately they have been able to move-in with relatives but coming to grips with everything they've lost has been a struggle.

"I was speechless. I couldn't say anything. We walked around for a good couple of hours after the fire department had left to see if we could salvage anything, and like I said there wasn't much," Tony Stokes said.

The fire took almost everything including leg braces that allowed their disabled son to walk.

"He's got to really hold onto something to walk, and he's usually pretty slow when he does walk. The braces allow the back of his calf to straight when he walks to keep his foot from shifting to the side," Tony Stokes said.

The total damage to the Stokes' home and the contents inside is estimated at about $85,000. They did not have insurance.