Fire Destroys Tulsa Home

A father and daughter are safe following a devastating house fire early Thursday in south Tulsa.

The home in the 6900 block of East 78th Street near Sheridan is another loss for Jim Allison and his daughter, Sarah.

Shortly after 5 a.m. firefighters were called to the home.

Jim's mother, in her 90s passed away a month ago.  The biggest shock though came three months ago.
"The loss of my daughter's fiance was something that we weren't prepared for. And that's been a terrible hardship," said Jim Allison.

And now they are grappling with the reality that the home they were renting is a total loss.  - 

"It's one of those things where you see it happen and you never think that it could be you," said Sarah Allison.

As forty firefighters battled the fire there was some good news, that we caught live on 6 In The Morning.
Dave Davis: "Rich I just want to tell you, they've just handed a cat to the homeowners.  A cat, I wanna be kind of careful here, but they just handed a cat to the folks in the SUV."

And it wasn't just any cat that firefighters found hiding under debris in the living room.  "Mr. Meow Meow" belonged to Sarah's fiance, a living reminder of him.  Firefighters also found Stella the dog, hiding in the backyard.

"We're just thankful that we're OK and our pets are OK," said Jim Allison.

"The fact that we got outta here with our family, my daughter and my animals, that's the most meaningful part to me."

While they've seen so much loss over a short period of time,  they're still hopeful and Jim says his family will persevere. 

It took firefighters about an hour to knock down the blaze.  
District Fire Chief Ronnie Cole says the fire appears to be accidental but they are still investigating.