Tulsa Family Grappling With Neglect Arrests After 4 Children Escape Fire

A mother and grandfather are now behind bars after the house they lived in went up in flames while four children were home alone.

Family says the situation already was devastating enough, now, with the arrests, they don't know what they are going to do moving forward.

Krystal Penheiro, the mother of the children, and Lee Snell, their grandfather, are in the Tulsa County Jail on felony child neglect complaints.

Bond for each has been set at $50,000 -- an amount family members we talked with say they can't afford.

They don't understand why it's so high.

The house fire started Friday afternoon in the 4800 block of North Lewis. Emergency crews found the four children, ages one through 10, waiting outside.

“TFD also passed on that the house was kinda hard to get in and out of, so the kids were fairly lucky to have survived that,” TPD Officer Brandon Smith said.

1/16/2016 Related Story: Children Home Alone Escape Tulsa House Fire; Mother Arrested For Child Neglect

Reporter: "Do you commend these kids?

"Oh, absolutely,” Smith said “Especially when I heard the 5-year-old carried the 1-year-old out."

Family says Penheiro and Snell couldn't take the kids in Snell's truck because it has a problem with fumes and could make the kids sick.

They say Snell helps care for everyone in the family and he was just trying to help his daughter take care of the kids.

We talked to Penheiro before she was arrested, and she said they were running an errand and didn't think about taking the kids with them.

Police say Penheiro didn't come home until 3 hours after the fire happened.

All four children are now in custody of the Oklahoma Department of Human Services.

Family members said they're now salvaging what they can from the home, trying to get the kids back and looking for ways to get Snell and Penheiro out of jail.