Oklahoma school mourning loss of young student who died in house fire overnight
RED ROCK, Okla. (KFOR) - Tragedy struck a small Oklahoma town on Wednesday morning. Sadly, a mother and her young daughter were unable to escape a house fire.
Now, investigators are working to pinpoint the cause.
On Wednesday afternoon, there was still heavy smoke at the scene hours after a fire destroyed the family's camper. A mother and her child were inside when it happened, and they unfortunately did not survive.
“Any time you deal with the loss of a loved one, especially something like this that involves youth, it's just heartbreaking,” said Sheriff Matt McGuire, Noble County Sheriff’s Office.
Officials at the Noble County Sheriff's Office told KFOR they believe the fire started around three in the morning. When they got to the scene, they found the two people dead inside their camper. The mother was found on the couch and her daughter was found in her room.
“We believe that the cause of the fire is going to be electrical,” said McGuire.
The fire also made its way to a nearby home behind the camper, where it destroyed everything inside.
“It appears that the fire did start in the camper and then because of the heat and the proximity of the camper to the residence, the fire then spread to from the camper fire to the abandoned residence,” said McGuire.
KFOR spoke to the homeowner who did not want to go on camera but said they use the home for storage, so no one was inside when it caught fire.
However, they are devastated after losing personal belongings that had been in their family for generations.
Frontier Public Schools' Superintendent, Erron Kauk, told KFOR students were notified on Wednesday morning of the tragic death of their classmate and her mother. The student was in elementary school.
“It's very unfortunate because she was a loving young lady... There's no great answer for it. You just band together and do the best you can and support each other,” said Erron Kauk, Frontier Public Schools Superintendent.
Frontier Public Schools says the district is bringing in resources to help fellow students who are grieving the loss of a classmate.
“Counselors are moving throughout the building during breaks and things, seeing if anybody needs an extra help. And then we're checking in with our teachers regularly to see if they need assistance as well,” said Kauk.
Kauk said many students are taking advantage of the resources.
“They're probably just trying to get a grasp on it. She's a younger student, so letting them understand the whole situation and just being there for them, just being available,” said Kauk.
KFOR spoke with loved ones of the family who told us they did not want to go on camera but said they are grieving, and this is a very traumatic time for them.
The State Fire Marshall’s Office told KFOR they are still investigating what happened. Right now, it appears to be accidental and most likely started by something electrical. It is not clear whether the family had a working smoke detector.