Elderly woman killed in Oklahoma City house fire

Tuesday, August 9th 2005, 9:52 am

By: News On 6

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) _ An elderly woman was killed and her husband was in critical condition Tuesday after an early morning fire swept through a southeast Oklahoma City home, fire officials said.

Three children, 9-year-old twins and a 12-year-old boy, managed to escape the blaze and were hospitalized with non-life threatening injuries, Fire Maj. Brian Stanaland said. None of the victims' names were immediately released.

Fire dispatchers received the call about 4:30 a.m. Tuesday and arrived to find the house completely engulfed in flames.

``When we arrived, the house was heavily engulfed in fire, front to back, top to bottom,'' Stanaland said. ``Flames were shooting more than 50 feet into the air.''

Firefighters were met in front of the house by a man in his 70s who said his wife was still trapped in the fire, Stanaland said. Her body was recovered and she was pronounced dead at the scene, Stanaland said.

The man was taken to Integris Baptist Medical Center with third-degree burns over more than 50 percent of his body, Stanaland said.

The cause of the fire is still under investigation. The home, valued at $60,000, was a complete loss.