Area agencies have joined forces to help a law enforcement family whose home recently was destroyed by fire.
A blaze early Friday leveled the Cherokee County home of J.D. and Michelle Taylor. J.D. Taylor is a corrections officer with the Cherokee County Sheriff's Office. Michelle Taylor is a communications officer with the Wagoner County Sheriff's Office.
About 2:30 a.m. Friday, the Taylors' son, 12-year-old Hunter, woke his parents to tell them that his electric blanket was smoking. When the smoldering cover was moved, it ignited, catching the bedroom and the house on fire.
"We are so thankful he woke up when he did," said Dawnna Hause, who works with Michelle Taylor in Wagoner County.
Every family member escaped uninjured, including Hunter's sisters, Payton, 11, and Kylee, 14.
Salvaged from the blaze were J.D. Taylor's wallet, a picture album and the family dog.
Two vehicles also were destroyed. A dealership in Muskogee has offered the family a rental vehicle.
Anyone wishing to donate to the Taylors is asked to call the Wagoner County E-911 Office at 918-485-7727, said Tulsa Police Officer Chris Elliott, whose wife, Judy Elliott, is the Wagoner County E-911 coordinator.
People also may contribute to the "Michelle Taylor Fund" at Armstrong Bank, 1500 W. Highway 51, Wagoner, OK 74467. Contributors may call the bank at 918-485-4104 or 888-201-1000.
Clothes sizes for the family members are as follows: Hunter, size 14 slim jeans, small adult shirt and size 8 boys shoes; Payton, size 16 girls pants, size 14-16 girls shirts, size 6 1/2 girls shoes; Kylee, size 2 junior pants, medium junior shirt, size 8 1/2 women's shoes; Michelle, adult 2X shirt, size 18 women's jeans, size 9 women's shoes; J.D., extra large shirt, size 34-36 jeans and size 12 men's shoes.
Rhett Morgan 918-581-8395
Copyright 2011 - Tulsa World, Okla.
McClatchy-Tribune News Service
