TULSA, Okla. — One year ago this week, a fire destroyed several apartment units near 51st and Yale. It left 28 people without a place to live and without belongings.
I arrived as Tulsa Fire Department cleared the scene and spoke with residents as they figured out their next steps. Now I checked back in with a couple I spoke with back then to see how their life has changed.
The Harper’s Lodge Apartment building that caught fire is still not fully repaired but it looks like work is being done as plywood is up.
For one couple who lost everything in the fire, it’s put them on a new path.
“During that event it was just surreal when it was happening you know,” Matthew McKown said.
Saturday, April 2nd, 2022 changed the lives of 28 people, including Matthew and Julia, as an early morning fire swept through the Harper’s Lodge Apartments. Despite losing everything, “at the end of the day, we just looked at each other and we were like I’m just thankful that I have you,” he said.
After the fire, they lived in a hotel, with family, and eventually the apartment complex property owners found them a sister property to move to.
Through this last year of rebuilding their life they realized a few things.
“We realized we didn't care about materialistic things. Once you lose everything, we were like 'what are we missing that bad?' Nothing really matters. We have each other and our family,” Julia McKown said.
Although, this journey has been a financial burden.
“You just don’t realize how much things really add up too when they are gone because even little things your just like 'oh that’s how expensive those things are.',” said Matthew.
However, this last year hasn’t all been hardships.
The two welcomed their new baby boy, Beckham McKown, into the world just one week ago.
Plus, “we recently got married. So it hasn’t all been bad things. It’s been good. So even out of tragedy some good things happen,” he said.
The McKown’s don’t know to this day what caused that fire and they drive past occasionally wondering, but also believing everything happens for a reason.
“The key is just having someone who is strong and loves you and is always there for you because we do that for each other. I would say that’s the major key of us getting through every hard challenge we’ve ever had especially that fire,” he said.
They aren’t completely back on their feet just yet. They are slowly rebuilding, but now the couple urges everyone to be prepared and have a plan because a fire can happen at anytime to anyone.
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