SKIATOOK, Okla. — A Skiatook family of six is counting their blessings after losing their home to a devastating fire last week, crediting an Osage County deputy's vigilance with saving their lives.
Richard and Kathryn Watson were asleep with their four children when Deputy Summerlin noticed a glow coming from their home during a routine patrol. The deputy's quick action to wake the family may have prevented a tragedy.
"We might have lost everything we have, but we didn't lose each other and we didn't lose our dogs so our family is still together," Richard Watson said.
The fire spread rapidly through the center of the home while the family slept. In a stroke of luck, the Watson children were sleeping in their parents room that night because their own bedrooms were under construction for upgrades.
Kathryn Watson described the terrifying moments when she first realized their home was on fire.
"I woke up. I could feel heat on my face. I started smelling smoke and plastic burning, and that was startling. I looked outside and our front deck here was up in flames. I started screaming fire. I woke up my husband. He went outside to try to get, he opened the front door to try to get our dogs. And the smoke just came barreling in. I didn't realize what he had just done because I was trying to count our kids," Kathryn Watson said.
The family escaped through a bedroom window, but their two dogs, Heidi and Jackson, were trapped inside. Skiatook firefighters made multiple attempts to rescue the pets and successfully saved both animals.
"Heidi broke free from ICU. She's out of borders now and she's doing pretty good, lots of medications. She's doing good. Jackson is still at the ICU right now, but he should leave very soon. They're going to survive and we'll all be together again soon," Kathryn Watson said.
The Watson family expressed deep gratitude for Deputy Summerlin's life-saving intervention.
"He legitimately sent an angel, and not all angels have wings. Some of them come with a badge and a gun and we just couldn't be more thankful for all of our boys in blue, all the firemen, all of our first responders, they are just over the top," Kathryn Watson said.
Community support has been overwhelming for the family. A GoFundMe campaign has provided them with temporary housing and essential needs during this difficult time.
"Everybody that's donated to our GoFundMe, we greatly appreciate you from the bottom of our hearts. We wouldn't be able to make it through this without the support of our community and that we would literally have nothing and not have any place to stay," Richard Watson said.
Despite losing their home, the Watson family will still celebrate Christmas together, thanks to community donations and support.
"Governor Kevin Stitt always says that we pull together as a community. And we really hadn't experienced it until this. This is what he's talking about. This is Oklahoma. This is small town America, and we couldn't be more blessed to be in small town America because the community of the 918 is at our backs," Richard Watson said.
The family has promised to give back to their community once they recover from this tragedy.
"Heartbreaking but we are all happy to be alive," Kathryn Watson said.
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
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