Monday, November 3rd 2014, 12:43 pm
The State Fire Marshal's Office is investigating a fire that killed a Skiatook teenager. Authorities say the fire happened overnight Sunday in a rural area northwest of Skiatook in Osage County.
Family and friends are deeply saddened by the death of the young man who just turned 18 a little more than a month ago and wanted to be an artist.
Friends and family say Farren Mayfield was at a friend's house for a birthday party Saturday night. Sometime overnight, he decided to sleep in a camper parked near the home.
Fire destroyed the camper, killing Mayfield.
"He was great, he was an amazing person," said friend Brody Eagen.
Eagen couldn't believe what happened.
"I actually thought my friends were trying to mess with me until I started getting messages from people saying it wasn't a joke, that it was real," he said.
While the fire marshal determines a cause of the fire, family and friends say it likely started when a kerosene lantern was knocked over, catching the interior of the camper on fire.
"I just feel like it was a dream, and I want to wake and it's just not happening," said friend Brody Eagen.
Mayfield loved to draw and had aspirations of going to college to study art. He loved the outdoors and music.
"He drew all the time," Eagen said, showing one of Mayfield's sketches. "You knew he really liked you as a friend if he drew you a picture out of nowhere."
Family members say Mayfield likely died of smoke inhalation, before the fire consumed the camper.
They say the loss is terrible enough.
One of the hardest parts was telling Mayfield's four younger siblings about his death.
The medical examiner's office is working to officially confirm Mayfield's identity. Once his remains are returned, family members will plan a memorial service.
Craig Day anchors the 5, 6 & 10 o’clock newscasts at News On 6. He’s an Emmy and national Edward R. Murrow award winner, whose work has also been recognized with awards by several other journalism groups, including the Oklahoma Society of Professional Journalism, Oklahoma Associated Press, and broadcasting associations in Louisiana and Texas, including reporter and story of the year when he worked in Shreveport, Louisiana.
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