Cherokee County Man Dies In Travel Trailer Fire Early Tuesday

By Craig Day, The News On 6

CHEROKEE COUNTY, OKLAHOMA -- The fire marshal's office is working to determine the cause of a fire that killed a Cherokee County man Tuesday morning.

He was killed when his RV caught fire near Keys, south of Tahlequah.

When firefighters arrived just before 5 a.m. Tuesday, the fifth wheel at the Petit Bay RV park was fully engulfed.

"I would say the flames were 20 to 30 feet high." Bobby Jackson, Keys Firefighter, said.

"The back portion, back here was completely gone up to that point," said Jamie Houston, Keys Firefighter.

Firefighters with the Keys volunteer department were able to get the fire under control within minutes, but the fire was so intense, it destroyed the RV and another one next to it.

"There's nothing to them. They go in a hurry," Jackson said.

The body of a 55-year-old man was found inside his fifth wheel in bed. His name is being withheld until relatives can be notified.

"It's tragic," Houston said. "I can only imagine what the family must be going through."

"The people we talked to around here say that he lives here," Jackson said.

While it's not clear yet if the fifth wheel had a working smoke detector, firefighters say the fatal fire is a tragic reminder for RV owners to be safety conscious.

"Anything you do at your house, do it here," Houston said. "People I think kind of lax off a little bit, but the danger is there unfortunately."

While firefighters are saddened by the death, they hope that information might one day save someone else's life.

The Fire Marshal is working to determine the cause of the fire.