By Evan Anderson, News 9
OKLAHOMA CITY -- Fire officials say
they can't stress enough how important it is to have working fire detectors in
your home. Investigators
say no smoke detectors were found in the family's home Wednesday morning, and
the lives of five people could have been saved.
"It's been a while
since we've had a fire where we have had this many people involved," said Maj.
Kevin Barry with the OKC Fire Dept.
Berry shows
a wall of fire alarms at the OKC Fire Prevention office that has literally
saved the lives of dozens of people across the city.
"These are smoke
alarms that were actually in residential fires," said Berry. "These smoke
alarms alerted the residents to the presence of fire, and these people got out
of the home."
He says one alarm
saved a family of 10 in March 2009.
12/26/2012 Related Story: OKC Police Identify Children, Mother Who Died In Accidental Fire
"Smoke alarms,
although melted, although under heavy distress, are still working, and so smoke
alarms work. They save lives," said Berry.
On Wednesday morning, it was a much different situation. Even though fire officials have ruled the
devastating fire as an accident, they say it could have been avoided if there
was a working fire alarm present in the home.
"They were really
good little kids, really nice little kids," said an emotional friend of the
family. "They were real great, real happy."
Seven people were
inside when the fire broke out, including 28-year-old Jeanie Bonnet and her
four young children.
"Any loss of life
for us in Oklahoma City is one too many," said Berry. "We want to avoid
these kinds of things."
Now a father is
preparing to bury his entire family.
"He's going to
have to bury four babies, and like I said, he has no insurance, no money," said
the family friend.
Fire investigators say the family was sleeping upstairs using a
space heater and their fire place to heat the home.
If you need a smoke alarm in your home, all you have to do is call
a fire station, and you'll get one for free. Even if you're not sure
about placement of your existing fire alarms, or if they work, OKC fire
officials say they will come out to your home and do an inspection.
Investigators say no smoke detectors were found in the family's home Wednesday morning, and the lives of five people could have been saved.
