Electrical Short Causes Nearly $250K In Damages To OKC Home

It took a couple dozen fire fighters a little under an hour to knock down a fire at a Northwest Oklahoma City home on Bayberry Drive.

The homeowner didn't have time to call for help. She reportedly saw lightening. Then her interior lights flickered. After checking the breaker box flames swallowed the home. The security alarm system notified the fire department.

"What also makes this unusual was the time of day and the fire got so big [even though] the people were home and they were awake," said Oklahoma City Fire Battalion Chief Mike Walker.

Neighbors looked on helplessly.

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"The lady ran out the house and I saw her husband run out and it looked like she was trying to go back in and he tried to calm her down and she fainted," said a witness, Patrick Williams.

The family dog was trapped inside.

"She may have had second thoughts when she got outside, but she did an excellent job of getting the kids out," said Walker.

Her kids may have made it out safely, but the family dog didn't make it out of a room on the second floor.

"This is a testament, if you will, that fires can grow extremely fast and that's what the occupant kept saying to me multiple times. That she couldn't believe how fast the fire was spreading," Walker said.

The home was destroyed. The only thing left is the rental car in the garage. No other homes were affected.

Firefighters determined that the cause of the fire was an electrical short from a power strip. There is an estimated $234,000 in total damages.