‘Everybody lost everything.’ Nurse’s home burns while she treats COVID patients in OK

An Oklahoma ICU nurse is picking up the pieces after her home was severely damaged in a fire while she was treating COVID-19 patients.

Tina Irwin works at Mercy Hospital in Oklahoma City and was about to put a COVID-19 patient on life support Dec. 15 when she received a call from her neighbor, CNN reported.

“Getting a call at work from your neighbor to ‘get out your house is on fire’ knowing three of your kids were home. Terrifying!” she wrote in a Facebook post.

Irwin got in contact with one of her daughters, who begged her to come home just before the line went dead, KOCO reported. Irwin rushed the four miles to the house and was shocked by what she found.

“The flames were … I couldn’t believe (it). I’m a single mom ... just walking up and everything (was) gone,” Irwin told the outlet.

Photos show flames engulfing the home’s garage as firefighters approach with a hose.

Three of Irwin’s four children were inside the house and escaped to safety along with their pets, Irwin wrote on Facebook.

She said one daughter had been asleep and another was taking final exams with her headphones on when the fire broke out, CNN reported. Irwin said it was her son who got everyone to safety. The girls are 11 and 17 years old, Irwin said in a Facebook post.

Irwin’s 25-year-old son, Justin, was home for the holidays when he heard a pop in the garage. He opened the door and discovered a “massive fire,” he told KOCO. “I just shut the door, hollered for my sisters and animals and got them out.”

The damage to the home is extensive.

Photos show ash piled in the garage and bare ceilings throughout the house with insulation hanging in patches. A light fixture appears warped and melted.

Officials said it’s expected to take nine to 12 months for repairs, Irwin wrote. The cause of the blaze is still unknown.

“I’ve been working frontline as a COVID ICU nurse since April — working five to 12, coming home exhausted,” she told KOCO, “and this was my safe place.”

Irwin said working in ICU during the pandemic has been trying.

“It’s just insane,” she told CNN. “We’re working tirelessly and they (patients) just keep coming and they’re sick. They’ll be fine for a few hours and next thing you know you’re coding them and administering CPR to get their heart to start again.”

The family was able to save some photos and a movie, but nearly everything else was destroyed, the outlet reported. The bumper of Irwin’s car even melted.

“Everybody lost everything except for what was on their backs,” she told CNN.

Irwin wrote that the family has been hopping from place to place and hopes to find a rental home in the next couple weeks. They have only what they can fit in a suitcase and can’t cook meals.

Neighbors paid for a few nights in a hotel for the family, and other members of the community have donated essential items, CNN reported.

Others are letting Irwin use their addresses to receive mail, she wrote.

“We are cozy tonight with warm clothes and the most amazing softest robe and drawers for our few clothes,” Irwin wrote Friday. “You take for granted the smallest things like a drawer full of clothes! I never will again.”

The Oklahoma City Fire Department is investigating the cause of the blaze, KOCO reported.

This story was originally published December 20, 2020 at 10:28 AM with the headline "‘Everybody lost everything.’ Nurse’s home burns while she treats COVID patients in OK."