OKLAHOMA CITY – Seven people are without a home after their apartment building caught fire Thursday afternoon.
The fire started around 3:00 p.m. at a complex in the 4700 block of N.W. 36th St.
Erma Yahola watched as smoke and flames took over.
“I don’t know if we lost everything or not,” she said.
Just minutes before, she was enjoying the comfort of her home.
Then, something startled her.
“I was watching TV and I heard a loud pounding on the door,” Yahola said.
It was her daughter screaming for her to hurry up and get out.
“And I threw the oxygen out of my nose and she wheeled me out the door, and when I got out the door the hallway was already full of black smoke,” Yahola recalled.”It was the grace of God that she was home and got me out of the apartment.”
Firefighters rushed to the scene and quickly put the fire out.
Despite their effort, the families that live in the building will have to find someplace else to call home.
It is bad news for Yahola, who is already dealing with a lot.
“I’m on home oxygen, and I’m wheel bound in a wheelchair and I’ve got cancer,” Yahola said.
Even through this hard time, she remains positive.
“I just take it one day at a time. That’s all I can do,” Yahola said.
Those are words of wisdom from a woman full of strength who knows what is really valuable in this world.
“And I know my granddaughter probably lost everything and my daughter, but all of that can be replaced, but your lives can’t be replaced,” Yahola said.
Fire officials say the cause of the fire was electrical.
The damage is estimated at $200,000.
