Three Family Members Killed In McAlester House Fire

NewsOn6.com

McALESTER, Oklahoma -- A mother and her triplet daughter died in an early Tuesday morning house fire in McAlester, according to a friend of the family.

The friend said another daughter died at the hospital Tuesday night. The father was injured, while two other daughters were able to escape, the family friend said.

The McAlester Fire Department got a 911 call just before 12:30 a.m. Tuesday about a fire in a home in the 500 block of South 10th Street.

Assistant fire chief Ralph Jerigen said when firefighters arrived, they found fire coming from the middle part of the home.

The family friend said two of the couple's daughters, 17-year-old Ally Edwards and 17-year Delaney Edwards, were asleep in a bedroom when the fire broke out and had to knock out an AC window unit to escape.

The family friend said the mother, 48-year-old Alyce Edwards, and one of the triplet daughters, 17-year-old Bradlee Edwards, did not survive.

She said the father, 41-year-old Brad Edwards, was taken to a Tulsa hospital.  The couple's youngest daughter, eight-year-old Zoey Edwards, was taken to a Dallas hospital, according to the friend. 

The friend said Zoey was taken off life support Tuesday evening and died about 9 p.m.  According to the family friend, she suffered smoke inhalation.

All four daughters were students at McAlester Public Schools.

The couple has another daughter, 20-year-old Layla Edwards, who attends college in another state, according to the family friend.  As of Tuesday evening, she was trying to make it back home to be with her family.

According to the family friend, the family had tried moving out of the house about a month ago, but decided to wait.   She told News On 6 a fund has been set up at First National Bank and Trust in McAlester.

Investigators have not determined what started the fire.