By KRYSTAL J.CARMAN
Cathy Gibson arrived to open Blue Starr Kiddie Ranch at 5:30 a.m. Thursday, ran to grab a soda and when she returned, she found a fire.
“I came right back and was going to start cooking lunch and that’s when I saw smoke,” Gibson said. “I ran inside the building and called 911. It was burning like crazy.”
The facility doesn’t open to the public until 6 a.m., so no children or employees, except for Gibson, were present at the time the large storage shed on the southeast corner of the property caught fire.
At 9 a.m., firefighters confirmed the fire was out and were examining the shed and a wooden fence to the rear to determine the cause of the fire.
Inside the shed were Christmas, Halloween and other holiday decorations the daycare used throughout the year as well as several toys.
The daycare is without utilities because the shed was located next to a utility pole on the city’s easement. The fire also came very close to the Kidz Church building at Church of Claremore in the adjacent parking lot.
Employee Casey Juby said the fire was overwhelming.
“I’ve never seen flames that big and I just went through a house fire in December,” Juby said. Winds were gusting. “Embers were floating everywhere.”
Many children were turned away as Gibson and other employees informed parents of the fire. Some chldren went to other daycare centers in town. Blue Starr Kiddie Ranch is owned by Tom Anderson. Gibson did not know when the facility would re-open. Crews from Cox Cable were on scene also assessing the damage to their lines.
