John and Ingrid Meinders felt disheartened.
The couple on Friday lost about $200,000 in a newly finished pool house to a fire caused by a lightening bolt.
“Pretty much everything is replaceable,” John said. “Instead of having a nice place for summer, we’ll be under construction. At least nobody was hurt.”
The two-story structure, located at 1006 Frontier Drive behind the Meinders’ main home, housed a dancing studio, a mother-in-law room and bath and a game room. Everything was destroyed after the roof, which was struck by lightening, caught fire.
It smoldered about three hours before it started burning, Ingrid said.
She learned the structure was on fire after a neighbor text messaged her.
The message said, “Your house is on fire!!!”
Ingrid said she ran outside and saw the flames. She and John then called the fire department.
According to Fire Marshal Todd Finley, the structure housed 1,900 square feet.
The call to the fire department came in at 8:51 p.m., Finley said.
“During the fire, the shift commander made a decision to pull everybody out of the (main) house,” he said. “We used handlines to get the (flames) under control.”
Handlines are hoses with nozzles held by two firefighters.
“It took about three hours to get the fire completely under control,” he said, noting, “We had 30 to 40 firefighters on the ground.”
All of the county fire departments, plus Fargo, were there with about 18 trucks.
Though there were many trucks available, “we actually only used three,” he said.
Finley said two firefighters suffered dehydration and were treated and released from Woodward Regional Hospital.
He praised the Woodward EMS, which set up a rehab station for firefighters who needed a break from exhaustion.
“Once the EMS checked them out, they would give them back to us, and they were a great help,” he said, adding, “The neighbors helped, too.”
“We even had the mayor working with us,” he said.
Finley said the roof of the structure was what mostly burned, but noted the structure was a total loss.
“Quite a bit of the house is left standing,” he said. “The roof is what’s gone.”
He praised the fire department for their work.
“The citizens of Woodward County ought to feel really blessed to have the firefighters they have,” he said. “They really came together as one team, and it really helped us out.”
Ingrid said, “We’re very appreciative of all the firefighters who came and the whole community. We had tons of offers for help. We’re just grateful the lightening bolt didn’t hit our home. That’s where all of our treasures are.”
Local News
Fire causes $200,000 in damage
- Local News
-
-
VFW to hold Memorial Day ceremony
Memorial Day is a day for people to remember and honor those who have fought and fallen in all of our nation's wars.
-
Voter registration deadline approaching
Those wanting cast a ballot in the June 26 Primary Election need to be registered to vote by June 1.
-
Alabaster Caverns sets science camp
FREEDOM - Alabaster Caverns State Park and the University of Central Oklahoma (UCO) are teaming up to provide a summer science camp.
-
Giving kids a reason to smile
SHARON - An area organization wants to give children affected by the April 15 tornado a reason to smile.
Knowing how much many families lost during the tornado, the newly formed "Make a Child Smile" program seeks to help replace the children's beloved items that were stolen by the storm. -
Oklahoma House narrowly passes annual budget bill
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — The Oklahoma House on Thursday narrowly approved a $6.8 billion general appropriations bill to fund state government, just hours after the same bill failed, avoiding the need to return for a special session.
-
Farmer’s Market opening up Saturday
The Woodward Farmer's Market Association will be back this summer.
-
Officials expect busy weekend on highways
OKLAHOMA CITY - AAA Oklahoma expects over 500,000 state residents to be on the road for the Memorial Day holiday. That's a 2.2 percent increase from last year, said Chuck Mai, AAA public affairs vice president.
-
Busy summer at library
The Woodward Public Library will be staying busy in months to come with several summer reading programs.
-
Quinlan event set
QUINLAN - The annual Quinlan Alumni and Former Quinlan Students' covered dish supper is Saturday at the Quinlan Fellowship Hall.
-
Big numbers expected at area lakes, state parks
Memorial Day weekend is the annual kickoff of the summer season and area parks and recreation areas are expecting big numbers of visitors, including Fort Supply Lake.
- More Local News Headlines
-
VFW to hold Memorial Day ceremony



