December 19, 2014
Fire Marshal Ken Helms – Enid Fire Department
At 10:52 pm on the evening of Wednesday, Dec. 10th, 2014 the Enid Fire Department responded to a structure fire at 1626 N. Quincy. First-arriving firefighters observed heavy smoke and flames venting from the entry door and windows on the front side of the structure.
Occupants Mike Slape (26) and Felicia Jelonek (29) were already outside of the burning structure having escaped without injury thanks to three teenage girls they credit with saving their lives.
Kyersten Ashlee (17), Nikole Ortiz (17) and Kaira Berry (18) noticed the fire in the front window of the home while enroute to Kaira’s house on the same street. “At first I thought it was Christmas lights, but when I looked closer I could tell it was the curtains on fire.” said Ashlee.
Berry called 9-1-1 to report the fire while Ashlee & Ortiz began shouting and pounding on the front door and windows to alert anyone who might be inside. Eventually Ashlee managed to kick-in the front door breaking the door frame at the dead-bolt lock. Ashlee & Ortiz then entered the smoke-filled living room and proceeded toward the back of the house to look for occupants. Awakened by the noise, Slape met the girls in the middle of the house and they made their way past the growing fire in the living room and out the front door. Slape immediately returned to the house to awaken Jelonek; sleeping in the den at the rear of the house. Thinking there may still be others inside needing assistance, Ashlee and Ortiz also re-entered the house briefly, meeting Slape and Jelonek on their way back to the front. As the four exited the structure for the last time, the fire had extended to the frame of the front door. Minor smoke inhalation and singed hair were the only injuries. No one required medical attention.
Firefighters arrived moments later and knocked-down the fire with a compressed-air-foam-system (CAFS). They remained on the scene for just over 2 hours to completely extinguish the fire and check for hot spots. The fire was apparently caused by an unattended candle in the living room. There were no working smoke alarms in the home.
