Neighbor Saves Woman from Burning Home

By Rusty Surette, NEWS 9

OKLAHOMA CITY -- Firefighters battled two house fires in the 500 block of Northwest 115th Street near the Broadway Extension Tuesday afternoon.

Fire crews arrived to find one home fully involved in flames. Shortly after, a second home caught on fire.

Winds made it difficult for firefighters to get a handle on the blazes as winds gusted to more than 30 mph, but they were eventually able to get the flames under control.

"Once we got the houses open, it actually aided us on clearing the living areas of the home so our firefighters could see where they were going and what they were doing," said Oklahoma City Fire Battalion Chief Todd Matthews.

Firefighters said the fire likely started somewhere between the two homes that caught fire.

A woman who lives in one of the homes was sleeping when the fire started. No one was in the other home at the time of the fire.

The sleeping woman said she was able to escape her burning home all because someone else was paying it forward.

Twenty-three-year-old Latasha Stevenson lives down the street from the homes and was driving by Tuesday when she noticed smoke. She said at first she thought it was BBQ, but then realized it was something much bigger.

"I stopped when I saw the fire and automatically knocked on the doors to see if anyone was at home at either house," Stevenson said.

Stevenson said her knocking woke up the sleeping woman, just moments before the fire engulfed the rest of the home.

"Her room is on the side that caught on fire," Stevenson said. "She had no idea the house next to her was on fire."

Stevenson, along with one other person, went into the burning home looking for the victim's deaf sister, who wasn't there after all. Stevenson said she didn't think twice about it because something similar happened to her family years ago, so she knew she had to do the same.

"Once upon a time, someone had to knock on my apartment door and let my mom know the apartment was on fire there. So I don't know, just kind of thinking quick, stopping and making sure nobody was hurt," Stevenson said.

The exact cause of the fire is still under investigation.

No injuries were reported.