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Octogenarian Perishes In Fire
posted (January 26, 2011)
The ravages of poverty and the destitution of advanced age combined to create an awful tragedy for a female senior citizen in the Port Loyola area. It happened last night and that's where Monica Bodden picked up the story.

Monica Bodden Reporting
The body of 81 year old Olivia Supal was placed on this stretcher and carted into the morgue last night. The elderly woman was burnt to death inside her bungalow wooden house - after it caught fire -at around 11.

She was home alone at the time of the fire and was found lying face down in the kitchen area.

Joan Mariano Diego - neighbor
"About 10 to 11 my neighbor from the front house came by and shouted Ms. Joan the old lady house is on fire and he said that she was inside the house, so I my children and I ran out to see if we could help, we manage to get some buckets of water, but we know that buckets of water will not help. My fifteen year old son and a neighbor went inside the house to try to get the old lady, but when they got inside the house the entire kitchen area was already engulf in flames and the lady was sitting inside the kitchen on a chair in a sleeping position. She lives alone in the house, we didn't know really what time the fire start but I know they alert me 10 to 11."

15 year old Julian Deigo was in his bed - when he was informed by his mother about the fire. This brave young man was one of two who entered the home in hopes of getting the old woman out.

Julian Diego
"I just came and burst the door open, we see the lady there, her clothes were already on fire and so we throw water on her so that she couldn't get burns, that's why she didn't get burn up bad, if I never had done that she would have been crisp brown. We try to put out the fire so that we could get the lady out, but she was already dead, it looks like she died from the smoke."

Monica Bodden
"So the fire was so intense that you guys couldn't just reach out and........"

Julian Diego
"No because she was where the heart of the fire was, but it looks like she was trying to get out but her heart must have fail or something. The neighbors were also trying to help take her out too but we could do anything, we did the best we could, we even get water from the drain to put out the fire to try to get the lady out but we could do anything."

Fire Fighter
"On the 25th of January around 11:42 we receive a call of a house fire on Louise Bevan Street and on our arrival we found out that it was on Pigeon Street and that it was a wooden bungalow house approximately 16 x 20 engulf in flames."

Monica Bodden
"Now at the time I understand an elderly woman was inside the house."

Fire Fighter
"During fighting the fire we were inform that there was someone in the house. We completed fighting the fire and after that we start to search for the body and we found the remains of an elderly woman, 78 years old Olivia Supal."

And most would agree that it was indeed an act of bravery for this 15 year old boy-

Julian Diego
"Well all that was going through my mind is that i didn't want the lady to die and 'oh my God' I just wanted to save the lady but with the fire I couldn't do anything."

According to Deigo, there was nothing they could have done to save the life of 81 year old Olivia Supal.

Joan Mariano Diego - neighbor
"By the time they shouted for us and we got out there is because the lady was on fire in the kitchen. It looks like she had candles on because the lady does not have light or water."

This is the 3rd time the elderly woman's wooden house has caught fire.

Joan Mariano Diego - neighbor
"Well move here about 10 years now and from time I know this lady never had light or water. I go around to see if I can seek help for her, I even talk to different people to see if they can help her get light and water, but nobody look on me miss, nobody."

Monica Bodden
"So you think last night's fire was caused by a candle?"

Joan Mariano Diego - neighbor
"It's a candle that cause it. Because from time to time I would have my children buy candles for her because that is the only means and ways she can see in the night time. But sometimes the candle would drop when she falls asleep because this is the 3rd time this house caught fire. The first time was in the bedroom but it was early enough, the children were up and all of us went to help her, the house didn't go down. The second time was in the hall from the curtains, it was early enough, this is one time now it starts late when everybody is asleep, and nobody was out to see this would happen."

For the neighborhood - they are still left in shock.

Joan Mariano Diego - neighbor
"I had always pray that i would never witness something like that because from the house caught ffire the first time and it caught fire the second time I said Lord please make somebody come and help me with this lady, at least with the light and water. i would want to witness this in my neighborhood and the same thing I pray not to happen was the same thing that happen."

"We haven't sleep all night, we are still frightened, the children are still shaky, the neighborhood is still shaky because the hours that it happen we didn't expect it to happen."

The house did not have electricity and the cause of the fire has not yet been ascertained - but many are speculating that it might have been caused by a candle. We couldn't find any relatives for Olivia Supal. According to her neighbors, she lived alone in the area for over 10 years.

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