Falling Ice Blamed For Tulsa House Fires

Thawing ice is being blamed for sparking several house fires Tuesday afternoon. The fires were all within yards of each other in a neighborhood near Pine and Sheridan.

It paints the perfect picture of a winter wonderland. But all the ice is a recipe for trouble.

"I'm just glad I was off work today or I could have really come home to a disaster," said Ande Sager, Tulsa Resident.

Ande Sager was at home when her power lines sounded an alarm.

"Just all the sudden started hearing. It almost sounded like gunfire, a bunch of popping, you know, rapid," Sager said.

The spark lit a fire, torching her electrical box, quickly spreading to the attic.

"I called the fire department and just got out, just backed out and grabbed the dog and go, that's all you can do at that point," Sager said.

Bobbie Jo, who lives one street over, was also on the phone fire department. She actually watched the electric current go from power line to power line before seeing the line snapped.

"It looks like something you'd see in a Hollywood movie. Watching that current live. It's very odd, you don't see that very often," she said.

PSO says sometimes falling ice causes power lines to bounce up and down, then touch. It's not a common occurrence, of course, but when those lines came into contact with each other, it can cause a power surge.

The power company thinks that's what may have caused four small house fires in this neighborhood.

"It's just that it stinks. A lot of smoke smell," Sager said.

The smoke and water damage at Sager's house mean she won't be home for the holidays. But the fire didn't burn her Christmas spirit.

"It's not ruined at all, thankfully the Christmas presents were in the car," Sager said.

She'll still be spending the day with her family with a lot to be thankful for. Firefighters were actually called out here two different times on Tuesday, and when we first showed up they were working on back-to-back blocks.

PSO sent an electrician out here to door-to-door to check every house effected to make sure it was safe.

No one was hurt and we certainly appreciate all the responders who are working hard for us this Christmas Eve.