Pratt residents reel at loss of four children in fire

There wasn’t much anyone was talking about in Pratt on Friday afternoon that didn’t involve the fire that killed four children the previous morning.

In the local McDonald’s, over burgers and pop, groups chatted about what happened.

“Horrific,” one woman said.

Across town at a gas station, a manager’s eyes welled up when she was asked about the fire.

“Everyone knows that family,” she said. “They were friends of mine.”

At Donald's Serva-Teria, a local diner, whispers about the fire and Charee Wheatley's condition were made around tables.

The fire started at around 9 a.m. Thursday at a home near Second and Austin where Wheatley and her four kids lived with their grandparents.

Wheatley’s children — Reece, 6; Timmy, 2; River, 1; and Harley, 3 months — were trapped in the basement with her.

They were taken to a hospital where they all later died, police said.

On Friday morning, investigators were seen going in and out of the charred home. Austin from Second to Third streets was still closed. Yellow police tape encircled a block around the house, and officers sat on either side of the street, making sure people didn’t pass through.

However, residents slowly drove by the scene Friday morning, peeking to see the investigation unfold.

An email to the State Fire Marshal’s Office wasn’t immediately returned Friday.

But Craig Bates, the children’s grandfather, said investigators told him it could be a couple more days before a cause is determined. They had already interviewed the others who were in the home.

The fire also damaged a home to the south of the Bates’ home. Its windows were covered up and there are two holes in its roof.

Children’s toys lay on the grass outside.

Bates, who was at work at the time of the fire, hasn’t been to the house since. It’s too hard right now, he said, and he immediately went to Wichita to visit Wheatley.

“I’m still at a loss myself,” he said. “I know what has to be done. But I don’t know how to do it.”

This story was originally published January 26, 2018 at 5:40 PM with the headline "Pratt residents reel at loss of four children in fire."