One person dead in Norman after house fire, neighbors react
NORMAN, Okla. (KFOR) - On Saturday morning, one person died after a housefire in Norman.
Crews responded just before 7:00 Saturday morning. Officials told KFOR they were able to put the fire out quickly.
Video from Saturday morning's fire shows the home up in flames. The house is near North Porter Avenue and East Robinson Street.
The Norman Police Department told KFOR, the victim was located inside the home as crews were working to put out the fire. No one else was injured, but the cause of the fire remains unknown at this time.
One neighbor who was emotional told KFOR she saw the house engulfed in flames.
“The house was ablaze. The whole thing was on fire,” said Denise Brown, Norman resident.
Denise Brown said after crews left, someone tried stealing the RV from the property next to the home.
“I called 911 and said, Look, you guys, there's people trying to loot the house. They want to steal our RV. The other neighbor came in parked behind the RV so that they can't take the RV,” said Brown.
Brown also told KFOR there’s been several house fires in the neighborhood before.
“This happens a lot in this neighborhood and that's why nobody wants to talk about it... because we have a big homeless population here,” said Brown.
Several residents nearby told KFOR the home has been abandon for years, but someone lived in the RV on the property.
"These are old houses. They're old military base houses from North Base, and a lot of them aren't as well maintained as others. And that one has been empty so long. You know, I don't know if it was electrical or gas. I'm just sorry that there was somebody inside," said Marianne Allbritton, Norman resident.
Other neighbors were also watching as crews put out the fire and said first responders did a fantastic job keeping the fire controlled.
“I mean, the fire crew was so quick on coming onto the scene... I know there was a little fear that the fire might move, but that didn't happen at all. They had, I think, three fire trucks out,” said Anna Sverrisdottir, Norman resident.
Sverrisdottir also said the community came together to check on one another.
"It's a bit of a shock to see something like this happen. But I think it showed the strength in our community that everyone came out and checked on each other, knocked on each other's doors to make sure that everyone was feeling okay,” said Sverrisdottir.
This is an ongoing investigation. The Norman Police Department told KFOR they plan to give an update next week.