In Garland County, friends and family members are remembering three people killed in an early morning mobile home fire. It happened west of Hot Springs in Royal. The Garland County Sheriff's Department thinks a wood-burning stove started the fire while they were asleep.
"It's just unbelievable. It's, to stand here and look at the place now, it's, I can't believe it," says Bill Sexton.
Sexton knew all three victims, including his brother-in-law. "I've known Steve since he was eight years old when I first started dating his sister. We've been married now for 38 years, so I've known him for about 40 years," says Sexton.
Also killed Sunday, Steve's girlfriend and another man. Sexton says it hasn't sunk in yet. "The times we fished on the lake; the times we've hunted together. All the things we did through the years. He will be missed terribly," says Sexton.
The Garland County Sheriff's Department says the mobile home didn't have any power, so to stay warm the three used a wood-burning stove which likely started the fire while they were sleeping. "The fire department did a good job of getting it put out, you know, to save what little bit there was left, but there was no saving the people at that time," says Lt. Rodney Neighbors.
Lt. Neighbors warns wood-burning stove users to make sure they know what they're doing. "Get somebody to tell you, know how to do it, and make sure it's maintained, you know, and keep the maintenance up on it so there's no problem with the fire getting out," says Neighbors.
Sexton thinks that advice could have saved his loved-ones' lives. "If it was the wood stove, and you have a wood stove in your house or your mobile home, make sure you check it. Check it regularly, because certainly we don't want anyone else to go through this," says Sexton.
The names of the three victims won't be released until later in the week once autopsies can be done. Sexton says they were just given four smoke detectors, but he doesn't know if they were installed. The Piney Volunteer Fire Department put out the fire.
