MUSKOGEE, Okla. —
Kypton Greenwood’s bedroom was turned from a bright, happy place to a pile of damp, ashy mush Tuesday by a fire that left his family homeless.
His toys — what remains of them — are melted mostly beyond recognition. His bed is an almost unrecognizable pile of charred wood and box springs.
But things could have been much worse, the 3-year-old’s parents say, if he hadn’t braved flames, smoke and fear to alert them their house was burning down.
“I woke up and he was tugging on my arm, saying ‘Mommy, my bed’s on fire,” Kypton’s stepmother Kendel Ames said. “As soon as I opened my eyes and took a breath, I was just filled with smoke. I was in shock.
“He’s a hero, pretty much.”
Ames said she looked down the hallway to Kypton’s room and could see the foot of his bed engulfed in flames. The fire, which began just before 1:30 a.m., had begun in an adjacent bathroom and had spread to Kypton’s room through the hall.
“I don’t know if he walked through the fire or crawled past it or what,” Ames said. “But I really don’t think we would have made it if he hadn’t.”
Ames said she and her boyfriend, BJ Greenwood, have lived in the house at 720 S. 30th St. for about 18 months. The family searched through what was left of the house Tuesday morning, looking for anything salvageable. Drywall, weighted down with water, had begun cracking and falling overnight. Most things not burned to a crisp were water damaged — firefighters battled the blaze for more than two hours before it was fully out.
“Funny thing is, I had my phone charging on the headboard of my bed while I slept,” Ames said. “The dresser next to the bed is just completely burned and destroyed, but my phone was fine.”
Greenwood said the Red Cross had put them up in a hotel and given them enough money on a debit card to buy some clothes. Faced with the prospect of starting over, Greenwood was resilient.
“We’ll be back on our feet soon,” Greenwood said. “It shouldn’t take long.”
Kypton, for his part, seemed to be taking it all in stride. Sitting on the patio outside the house, he said he saw his house on fire and “woke my mommy up.”
Then, like any normal 3-year-old, stood up and announced: “Let me go, I want to go run over there and spit.”
Features
Related Photos
-
Kypton Greenwood, and his stepmother, Kendel Ames, sit outside their house at 720 S. 30th St. Tuesday. The interior of the house was destroyed by a fire Tuesday morning, and Kypton’s parents have called him a hero after he alerted them to the blaze. Muskogee, Okla., Phoenix
-
What’s left of Kypton Greenwood’s toys sit near ash and debris after a house fire destroyed the interior of his family’s house at 720 S. 30th St. on Tuesday. Muskogee, Okla., Phoenix
Discussion
3-year-old saves family from blaze
- Features
-
-
VIDEO: How technology helps predict tornadoes
At the National Storm Prediction Center in Oklahoma, the team charged with predicting tornadoes relies on ever-changing technology to determine when and where storms may strike.
-
Rude teens an example of emotional narcissism
Q: I went into my 17-year-old’s bedroom to wake him this morning. After some urging, he eventually got up and then told me he hated me. What is the appropriate consequence for this sort of disrespect?
-
The would’a, could’a, should’as of Edmond living
“Would’a, could’a, should’a” might be the most useless contractions in the English language — especially when preceded by “if only” — but I’m not letting that stop me.
If only I’d known what was coming, I would’a stayed out of Edmond’s seductive garden shops last weekend, but it’s been a long, cold winter and I couldn’t resist all those colorful flowery offerings begging, “Take me! “Take me!” -
VIDEO: Man hands out Abercrombie clothes on Skid Row in bid to shame brand
Anger has mounted online against clothing retailer Abercrombie & Fitch due to comments made by its chief executive and its strategy of not making women's clothing in any size above large.
-
Feces contaminates 58 percent of public swimming pools
Human feces taints more than half of public swimming pools, a finding U.S. health officials are using to urge better personal hygiene as the summer months approach.
-
VIDEO: One by one, homes in Calif. subdivision sinking
Scott and Robin Spivey had a sinking feeling that something was wrong with their home when cracks began snaking across their walls in March. Within two weeks their property dropped 10 feet below the street.
-
5 takeaways from the IRS report
What are the key takeaways from the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration's report on the Internal Revenue Service's decision to subject conservative groups to heightened scrutiny?
-
How to get the most out of your air conditioner this summer
Experts say preventative maintenance on your air conditioner can save you hundreds of dollars.
-
VIDEO: How robots will shape the future
Robots could revolutionize everything from learning to fitness. Tech reporter Rich DeMuro shows how companies are using robots to shape the future.
-
Bodily waste can help solve the energy crisis, author says
Bodily waste is widely considered a topic not to be discussed in polite company; it's something to be flushed and forgotten. But a new book argues that waste, in all its human and animal forms, is worth getting to know intimately.
- More Features Headlines
-
