McAlester Business Collecting Donations For Victims Of Recent Fire

Clothing donations are piling up in McAlester for people who are starting over after a fire last week destroyed their homes and just about everything they owned.

While investigators are still working to figure what caused the fire near Fourth and Main, victims who lost their homes don't have to look far to start putting their lives back together.

What once stood as a business and several apartments is now a pile of rubble, after a fire caused people to crawl out of windows to safety. About a quarter mile down the road there is help for those who lost everything, at Pitstop Lock and Safe.

"We're basically building them from the ground up,” employee Mazie Cormier said.

Cormier's mom owned the baby consignment store destroyed in the fire. 

"We've lost a lot. But we didn't lose our home,” she said.

She's doing what she can by providing a drop off location for anyone who wants to give, like Greg Brown and his nephew, Morris Tilford.

"We were doing some spring cleaning and we happened to say, hey, let's go help the community out,” Tilford said.

There are seven people in need of shoes, clothes and other basics, while they figure out what to do next.

"In a time of need, people are actually helping,” Cormier said.

Mazie said she is humbled by what people are willing to do for their neighbors.

"It takes a village. And I just wanted them to know that they have a village. It's really, really nice knowing that they have a bigger village than what I expected,” Cormier said.

Here is a complete list of specific clothing needs for the victims:

Chris (Male)

Pants size 36-38x32

Shirt XL

Underwear XL

Shoes 8 -8 1\2

Mary (Female)

Pants size 14-16

Shirt L-XL

Underwear L-XL

Shoes 7-8

Cody (Male)

Pants size 30-32x34

Shirt Med

Underwear Med

Shoes 10-11

Chris (Female)

Pants size 6-8

Shirt M-L

Underwear M-L

Shoes 6-6 1/2

Jason

Pants size 36x36

Shirt L-XL

Underwear. Large

Shoes 13-14

Erika(Female)

Pants size XL

Shirt XL

Underwear Large

Shoes 8

Devon (Male)

Pants size XL

Shirt XL

Underwear XL

Shoes 12

Cormier said any donations that are not needed by victims will then be donated to a business in town called Shared Blessings.