Woman’s home saved by volunteer firefighters who used to be her students battling Gracemont Fire
By Dacoda Wahpekeche
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CADDO COUNTY, Oklahoma (KOCO) — Several families in the path of the Gracemont Fire, which has burned more than 3,000 acres in Caddo County since Sunday, have feared for their lives, homes, and pets.
“I thought, ‘Oh my gosh, one of my family members have been in a wreck.’ He said, ‘You got to go. There’s a fire on your road,'” Tamara McFerrin said.
McFerrin was told to evacuate her home after a deputy arrived at her property shortly after her power shut off.
“When they first whipped into our driveway and told us that ‘you got to go now,’ I looked, and the flames were just shooting from the trees,” McFerrin said.
McFerrin, who works at Binger Public Schools, quickly packed up her pets and left her home. Her property was saved thanks to the efforts of firefighters, including two volunteers — one a recent graduate of Binger and another still in school.
“They were here. They were the first ones, my sister said. That is unbelievable, about to make me cry right now,” McFerrin said.
When she returned home, McFerrin found much of the surrounding land burned and has been taking small firefighting measures herself to extinguish flare-ups.
“We were moving the water hose back and forth,” she said. “I was in the trees stomping on flames last night with flip-flops on. Yeah, I was like, ‘OK.'”
Officials reported that the fire has destroyed at least two homes and burned 3,000 acres.
McFerrin is thinking of her neighbors and friends who have been impacted by the wildfire. She’s even taking a small leave from work to protect her home and pets named Riley, Milo, and Miley.
“I wouldn’t want her locked inside, and I wouldn’t want them with all the traffic. I mean, it has been non-stop traffic,” McFerrin said. “Got to keep these babies safe.”
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