A house burned Sunday morning and the occupants exited through a bedroom window upon seeing flames, according to a Durant Fire Department report.
Firefighters were dispatched at 6:31 a.m. to 1802 Forest Lane and when they arrived, approximately half of the home was engulfed in flames. Steven Beck, identifi ed as the occupant, told firefi ghters, he had noticed the television turning off and on plus the lights in the living room dimming.
The report stated Beck woke up that morning and heard popping sounds that sounded like gunfire. Upon opening the bedroom door, he saw that the west wall of the living room was on fire. Beck and his spouse then fled the home through a window.
The fire spread to a storage building and two cars in the driveway and firefighters spent more than two hours on scene putting out the fires and looking for remaining embers to extinguish.
The cause of the fire was undetermined and the state Fire Marshal’s Office was notified to investigate. Damage to property and contents with a total value of $315,000 was estimated at $310,000, according to the report. Donnie Clark was identified as the owner of the home.
Firefighters were also dispatched to the following recent calls: - Dogs were locked inside an outbuilding at a homeless camp on East Cedar Street and firefighters cut and removed the lock.
- A 150-foot radius from 215 N. 13th Ave. was evacuated after a gas line was struck by a utility contractor and the area was secured until Oklahoma Natural Gas declared the area was safe. Firefighters were on scene almost two hours.
-Durant firefighters assisted the Caddo Fire Department by providing a water supply for a structure fire at 201 Mary St. in Kenefic.
- Discarded cigarette butts were the possible cause of a small fire at 602 N. Second Ave. When firefighters arrived, police on scene had used a fire extinguisher to contain the fire on a side of the home next to the front door. The fire burned through siding on an exterior wall and the owner said she had thrown cigarette butts in a flower pot next to the door and that may have caused the fire.
- A controlled burn became uncontrolled at Tucker’s Slaughterhouse at 524 Lee Ave. When firefighters arrived, the fire had spread to old cars and a tractor which they extinguished.
-Dead pine needles under a tree in a parking lot at Southeastern on Chuckwa Street ignited and the fire spread to an approximate 100 squarefoot area because of high wind and low humidity. Firefighters hosed down the fire.
- A mobile home at 419 S. 19th Ave. burned and no one was inside at the time of the fire. The cause of the fire was undetermined.