Broken Arrow Man Killed In Early Morning House Fire

A Broken Arrow family is grieving after a grandfather died in a house fire on Monday. 

The State Fire Marshal's Office is leading the investigation. 

Related Story: Man Dies In Early-Morning House Fire In Broken Arrow

Family said the victim, Joe Cartland, just made new family memories this weekend. They said Cartland got home on Sunday from his grandson's out-of-town wedding. 

“I can't believe it. This is where I grew up,” Cartland’s stepson, Jerry Harrold said while looking at the home near East 31st Street and South 209th East Ave. 

Harrold's childhood home is destroyed after a fire that he said took his stepfather's life. 

“My mom passed a little over a year ago in this house and then he just passed in it,” Harrold said. 

Harrold lives next door, and said he just checked in with his 74-year-old step dad Sunday night around 6. 

He recalls their last conversation about a family wedding in Kansas over the weekend. 

“We were talking about the wedding and how much fun he had. He said he was tired and wanted to go to bed,” Harrold said. 

Several hours later, Jerry said the house caught fire. 

“I thank the lady about a block away that actually came knocking on my door cause they had seen the fire,” he said. “She just kept knocking on houses until somebody answered."   

Harrold said he and the neighbor did everything they could to help Cartland, even breaking down the locked front door. 

“We both took a leg and pulled him all the way to the mailbox. And by that time the house was engulfed,” he said. 

State investigators said the victim was pronounced dead at the hospital. 

Cartland leaves behind four children and seven grandchildren. 

Investigators are still determining the cause of the fire, but Harrold thought it may have started in the kitchen. 

The medical examiner will officially identify the body.