Midwest City home destroyed by fire Friday

No one was injured in the blaze.

Ruth Dickey, 75, said it's a blessing she wasn't there when the fire broke out at her home near NE 15 and Douglas Boulevard.

She was staying at her daughter's house in west Oklahoma City when she was roused by frantic phone calls.

"They thought I might be there," Dickey said. "Thankfully, I wasn't."

Midwest City Fire Marshal Jerry Lojka said fire crews responded to calls from neighbors shortly before 6 a.m.

The fire likely started about 5 a.m.

Firefighters had a hard time extinguishing it, and the fire flared up again about 8:30 a.m., Lojka said.

The house had a number of add-ons from remodeling, and fire got into the attic and through the roof.

Dickey made it to her home shortly before the fire's second wind.

Dickey saw a lot of smoke, but thought some things in the house might be salvageable.

"Then I saw the flames, and it was like the bottom dropped out," she said.

Firefighters battled the flames until about 4 p.m. Afterward, crews came in and razed the building, Dickey said.

Her grandchildren, children and other family members were at Dickey's side Friday.

"There were a lot of memories there," she said.

Dickey and her husband bought the home from her brother-in-law in 1969.

She has lived there alone since her husband died in 1999.

Gwen Ritchie, Dickey's daughter, said although the home is a total loss, the family is thankful.

"The best thing that was ever in that house is safe — my mom," Ritchie said.

The home was valued at about $75,000.