UPDATE (with photos) Elderly woman dies in early morning fire in Portsmouth
Dominica News Online - Sunday, July 22nd, 2012 at 5:32 PM
Burnt house in Portsmouth. Photo by Chad Ambo
It was a horrific and tragic scene in Portsmouth on Sunday July 22, as an elderly woman perished during a fire at her home at Upper Lane, in the area of Portsmouth known as Zicack.
The incident occurred at about 7o’clock in the morning.
Dead is Maudrina Walters, better known as ‘Ma Peedis,’ an elderly woman who lived in the wooden house with two other members of her family.
Dominica News Online was able to speak with two neighbours who were the first to arrive at the scene of the fire.They both attempted to rescue the victim, but their heroic efforts were thwarted by the powerful fire and large volume of smoke.
One of the neighbours told DNO that she awoke to shouts from her husband telling her that there was a fire at her neighbour’s house. She said as a close friend of the victim, she immediately ran over to try to help and met the victim’s daughter, Edith Walters, screaming outside in a ‘frantic and panicked’ state.
Gutted inside of burnt house. Photo by Chad Ambo
The neighbor told DNO that she ran into the house and met the victim still conscious in her bedroom. The would be rescuer tried to assist by taking the victim outside, but her large size and immobility due to poor health, prevented them from making much progress.
She said at that point, another neighbor, a male, who also preferred to remain unnamed, came inside the house and tried to help. However, the DNO source said that the heat and smoke forced both of them to leave the house, hoping that fire officials in the proper gear would arrive soon to save the victim.
Unfortunately, by the time the Fire Services arrived, the blaze was already too far advanced for anyone to make another rescue attempt.
The body of the victim was removed from the premises and taken away by the ambulance after the flames were extinguished by the firemen.
No other buildings were damaged during the fire. However most of the contents of the victim’s home were consumed in the blaze.
Photos below by Eric Thomas.
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112 Comments
so where de rest of de pic
al the they had to do was to lower the lady to the floor with the sheet she was lying on and drag her out
edith, take courage, may god keep you and all your siblings inhis loving arms.
To Edith and family, condolence s. RIP Ma Peedis.
It is with tears in my eyes I write these few lines. May I extend condolences to Anna,Edith, Smith and the others on the passing of their mum who was my aunt. This is a tragic way to die and I hope that Edith do not blame herself because she tried.May you find your strength in God. Be strong for each other,God bless.
may the lord bless and keep the family together my heart rich out to you the walters family close friend
we must not say what we want.is the time the officers got the call, and when they got it, they moved immediately. if it were not for the fence the neighbours would have savwed her.also remember the lady could hardly move a muscle due to her illness so hearts out to the heroes who went in for her.god bless you all. and to the family, hold strong
Ma Pedis was a lovely kind hearted to everybody in zicack and portsmouth in general.no one can say anything bad about this lady.nothing was too much for her to give. i remember when i was a young boy in nons school, days when my mother use to have to cut one pencle in two to share with my brothers, ma pedis would give me my whold pencle , book and eracer, and even recess for school. looking back ,that meant alot to me. you always tell me make sure i come to your funeral when you die, well i will be there to pay my respect one more time. rest in peace.you will be missed.
may her soul rest in peace!
the fire station is just a few blocks from ma peedis house 1 minute drive from the fire station to ma peedis home econd peron to die in a fire hame on our fire fighter they must watch the american system they are always half dress when the fire come just slide on there close and move those here always in home close especially those in possie so by the time a fire is report they have to put all there close and shoe . if they were half dress something would have been done to ave the lady
@ truth
I noticed how they are dressed. I found it strange that they were not in uniform.
I guess no one dies in any fire in the almighty US! You people watch too much TV, and believe any crap that is fed to you by the lord US media.
am very sorr for the lost of a loved one. i emphatise with you i know exactly how you feeel.may god bless you and your family. and may ma peedis rest in peace, in the hands of god
to the walters’ family in Portsmouth, I am sorry to hear of the tragic loss of your mother. May her soul rest in peace…may God be with you all in this time of tragedy…
so so sad,to edith and family my condolences,R I P ma pedies
rest in peace
Alas!Alas ma pedis rest in peace. no more suffering no more pain. Edith, u have been her pillar hold strong my dear.wheeping may endure for the night but joys comes in the morning. to the rest of the family, Anna, Triniboy, Smith and Archibold may you all find strenght in this time of grief. take courage! May the good LOrd bless you all.
Heavenly father protect the family of ma pe-dis during this difficult time.
During this hard time be in love with each other, you will have differences but just remember what you are doing do it in love, so that you all will be able to go through this rough time in your life.
Our condolenses be with you.
Gods’ guidance.
Thanks to the attempt rescuers. It is time Dominica Fire Department upgrade when comes to calls of emergencies, I am fedup now with so many people dieing because of their lack of common sense to know when to run and when to fly, by now the Fire Department need to sit and look at these things and take into consideration the lives of Dominican doesn’t matter their age. Make sure every equipments is checked daily incase of emergency. We want to follow other countries but lack of intelligence of the know hows’.
My deepest thoughts are with the Walters. A tragedy indeed. Edith my memory goes back to when I travelled to Roseau with you in the mornings and we both talked about our Mom. I could tell that you and your Mama had a special bond. There is nothing or no one that can refill the void left from losing a Mom, except the comfort of the Holy Spirit. My prayer is that you be comforted. God Bless.
so where was peedis in all that? can you imagine the man living just one block away from the lady and the man never came in to help, instead he put on his clothes and went to church? satan company….. doh worry his time will come, edith and anna and the rest of alu, god will give alu courage, hold tight
so all you like to spread rumours. If I had your email address I would have sent you a pic of him right there on the porch while everything was going on. Which church the man went to? smdh
thats true some ppl are quick to point finger the man was on the scene i personally saw him possie massive stop it the next time u do something lie this im gonna put ur real name on fb and dno.or by the way is peedis on facebook
allu mustnt say wat allu want.d man was der al d time not becuz yu doe see him allu to copawazo
I do not know where you get saying that Mr. Pedids was not around during the fire. When I got the call at 7.00am that the house was on fire I started calling him and there was no answer on his phone. After a while athe same person who called me and notified me of the fire called me and told me that look Mr. Pedis on the scene and he gave Mr. Pedis the phone and I spoke to him on the scene while the fire men were removing the body and transporting her to the hospital. At that point what could he have done. Please do not try to make him feel guilty. Before you post a blog try to get your facts straight. It is already heart breaking to love a dear friend, mother as it is. Please do not try to cast any blame. May her soul her in peace. My thoughts are with the family at this time not the negative comments that are being posted.
Stop spreading false rumors, though he is no favourite person of mines, I will not seek to encourage you in spreading malicious lies. The man was right there, in the heat of it, he could do nothing more than anyone else could do. So before you open your trap and belch out vile, research, research, research.
May God comfort the family in this time of grief.
What a tragic loss. My sympathies go out to the Walters family. For those who would like to know, this is the mother of Charles Walters(otherwise known as TriniBoy), the cricketer from Portsmouth who played for Dominica and a well known sports man, (Basketball and Football).
May God Be with you all in your time of mourning.
Very Sad, Condolences to the family…
Very Sad, Condolences tot eh family…
oh my that is very sad. sympathies from my family to yours. May God give you all strength in your time of grief.
Our hearts ache and our tears flow but the precious memories of you we will forever cherish. Auntie we are still shocked at your passing. We will continue to look to the lord for strength in this moment of grief. We will forever love u auntie maudrina. From all of us in Antigua we miss u dearly. RIP Auntie RIP!!!!!!!!!
She is in a good place. Typo
May God grant peace and hope to the family. Your mum is in a good bless may her soul rest in peace.
May God ocmfort ur hearts
this is very heart breaking, but at least we can still see that our people are still a loving people, as they at least attempted to try rescue the lady, putting them selves in harms way….
Condolences to the family and friends….
My condolences to the family.
So sad Rest in peace. condolences to the family
very sad ineed… may her soul rest in peace
May her soul Rest in peace…Ayelas and her house wooden so you know that fire was in its element…she didn’t stand a chance waiting on the fire service
Too SAD!!! My heartfelt condolences to all
wasn’t anyone else in the vicinity to assit that daughter with her mother?
The size and immobility of the victim mentioned by DNO would definitely be too heavy for one person to deal with under such frantic circumstances.
This is a very sad way to leave this world.
Sympathy to the entire family.
read please, neighbors were trying but could not. READ
My deepest condolences to Ms. Edith and the rest of the Walters family. Take courage in the Lord, our comforter.
to the Walter family, my condolences to you all. Smith, Charles, Edith, Archibal and Annaclete, may the God Lord be you all guide and strength. My prayers are with you all. a former neighbor.
R.I.P MA PEEDIS
i feel sorry 4 d family
Truly sad. Well they did all they could to try to save her. May they all find comfort in her memories and knowing that they gave it their all.
That’s very sad. My thoughts and prayers go out to the family members left to mourn. I hope they get some kind of assistance to at least help deal with their physical loss.
To the good neighbours, I hope that they don’t blame themselves for the death of the woman. It was very brave to have tried. In most cases the fire services will tell you that if you’re not trained or equipped then it may be best not to attempt to run into a burning building. I hope that I have good neighbours such as you.
Our sympathy to the family from possie people overseas !
sad to hear u go ma walters…but am sure nothing happens for a reason …rest in peace
very very sad news to wake up to this morning. May all the family be comforted and may the soul of the lady rest in peace.
tragic but why two major fires , this one one street away from the fire station, the other two streets away and the fire service still take so long to arrive on the premises, shame!!! SHAME!!!! NOTHING WORKS IN THE GODFORSAKEN COUNTRY!!!!
y dont u become a fire officer so u could do a faster better job ur idiot
Did u ever hear someone comment that the fire service take so long to come? were u there? be cautious of what u say.
Excuse me? if yu not from possie hush yur mout, the lady house is just a stone throw from the fire station, and is gwass a neighbour that run in the fire station to call dem from thier breakfast table that make dem come, by that time the lady was dead already, suffercated by smoke, am not sayign she wouldnt have died, but al least had they been on the scene on time, maybe, just maybe she would have survived it becasue she was already close to the door
Have anyone commented that it is the fault of the fire officer?Were u there? Think before you make your comment.
Did you inform the fire service?
You there running your month i wonder what did you do to help put out the fire
Why didn’t you call the fire service?
I am deeply sadden by this story…I cant imagine dying in this way…Please be with the family members, Lord and continue to strengthen them. May Her soul rest in peace.
Dominican Living in St. Maarten
Can some one tell me when last the fire men were on time to save some ones life in Dominica and how often do the fire men of Dominica come out for practice.we may say theres not much of fire in Dominica so what do they do at that moment is it playing cards or looking at tv and what time do they go to bed when they are on call and how long do they take to answer the phone
Please someone tell the authorities to put persons at the phone of 999. I understood that this number was called and NO ONE answered the phone. It wrange out.
If 999 is no longer in operation, please give the citizens of this land another number to call in time of an emergency something very simple, so that children can memorize it also. like (111)
may u rest in peace Ma Pedo as i use to call u.U were a very good and nice person to me.
ITS SO SAD WHAT HAPPENED TO THAT WOMAN..ACCEPT MY CONDOLANCES TO THE FAMILY.
What a horrific day;It’s so sad what happened today… And the thing is no one was expecting it.R.I.P grans we will all miss you– esp. me. Good people like you don’t deserve to die– A warm hearted person;always helpful; and loved to share whatever it is that you had with others. You know?…i know you had to die but i never wanted you to go so soon or the way that you did. I WILL MISS YOU GRANNY!!! <3 <3 <3 <3
Dear Edith, my heart just aches for you at this time. This is such terrible, terrible news and I am so sorry to hear that your mom had to go this way. She was such a sweet and kind lady! Words are not enough to express my sadness at the passing of your mom. My prayers are with you and the rest of the family.
Smith, just hang in there! God is in control of everything. May the almightly father be with you in this grieving moment.
My deepest sympathy to the family. Though quiet, she was a pleasant person. May God grant you the strength to go through these trying times. You are in my prayers
Sad,SAd, stories we are faced with these Days. Hope we all come together to assist this fire victim A.S.A.P. Most people are on weekend so wait till tomorrow and see what happens while we asleep at the news things are happening all the time no exception Week End included.
That is so sad. hope the family members take it easy.
This is so sad. heart breaking
How sad. I wonder what caused the fire.
May God console her family.
May her soul rest in peace. Amen!
Edith, Triniboy, Smith and the rest of the Walter family, sincere condolences to you during this horrowing and dreadful time. I feel your pain. I know you loved your mum dearly and cared her as best as you could. I know if you could you would have saved her but it was not to be. Hold tight, God will see you through. You are in my prayers.
R.I.P Mame…Sad way to go …Guess u’re in a better place .
how sad condolences to the families …………….but isn’t the fire station in the area may her soul rest in peace
so sad. RIP Ma Peedis.
very sad
To all the Love ones of Mrs. Walters better known as Ma Pe-Dis, the lord will guid you all so that you can go through this great lost. our condolenses to you all.
tragic. very sad indeed. i must commend the two brave souls that tried to rescue Ma Peedis from the horror of that death. Sympathy to the family for losing a loved one. May God be with you all in this dreadful time. One important point that i see absent from news report is “What time were the fire fighters informed that there was a fire in the area?’ Both persons that tried the rescue attempt failed to mention whether there was a called place to the fire officials. A very vital point that could have meant the fire fighters arriving sooner than they did and maybe just maybe we would not be mourning the loss of Ma Peedis.
My deepest condolences to the Walters family in Zicack, on the tragic passing of their loved one aka “Ma Peedis”. May you all find peace and consolation within your hearts in your time of bereavement. She was a very dear friend of my mom who is also deceased and a great family friend. RIP Maudrina
When I first heard the news I thought she had succumbed to her illness but when I was told what really happened I broke down into greater tears. Aunty Maudrina I know you can’t read this but I know that you will be dearly missed! You were a phenomenal woman! Edith, Anna, Trini and the others God is with you! I love you guys! My heart grieves heavily!
Love always
‘liz’
It is with sadness that I greave the unexpected and tragic death of my friend. Words just can’t comprehend the loss and pain that I feel. To the family (her husband Pedis and sons Smith, Charles and Archibald,dughters Edith,and Anna)just hold on. She is in the hands of the lord. The memories of her life will always be treasured. Rest in Peace my friend. You are gone but will never be forgotten for the good that you have done for me and my daughter. This always will be treasured. I am previledged to have had called you my friend my mother. Good bye my friend.
so sad to hear. my deepest sympathies to family members and loved one. it is hard to lose a house and property but for someone to perish also….that is a hard one. be strong
Oh Lord. I feel so sorry. I shivered when i read this piece of news. To the family I feel your pain, take courage and i pray that the lord will give you the strength you need to overcome your grief.
So sorry to hear what happened. I sympathize with the relatives of the deceased. At least, considerable and extensive efforts were made to save her. Juust hope she was in right standing with the Lord, so that she’d recieve a new body and a new name in glory.
poor lady, Alas!! Not to be insensitive, but knowing the danger they should have just dragged her out…nevermind a few bumps or bruises but she would have been alive…. but I can understand how panic striken they must have been.. very sad indeed
R.I.P poor lady
to the family Edith Triniboy Archibald Smith and others me know you all very well it was so sad when me get the news i feel it just like u all do me saw ma peedis in 2010 when me was home for the christmas well all me can say to u all in ths sad event hold strong and rest in peace ma peedis god have a place for u in heaven.R.I.P
Awww that’s sad. I wish to express my condolences to the family of the bereaved.
Very, very sad news indeed. May our merciful welcome Ma Peedis to paradise and may the family find strength in God.
Deepest sympathies to the family and friends.
Very, very sad news indeed. May our merciful God welcome Ma Peedis to paradise and may the family find strength in God.
Deepest sympathies to the family and friends.
What a horrific way to die. Truly heartbreaking. My condolences to the family of the deceased. One question I would like to ask though…Does Portsmouth which is the second town of Dominica have a fire station?
instead a war on fire ,putting more effort to having a fire station in portsmouth ,they have a war against the ganga herb found on king solomon grave
@ shatta where is all this comin in we need more than war on nganga we need war on thugs like you.who go around messing ppl clildren up with drugs i pray to god that u repent one day for the time is near stop blaming the fire men.talk in a constuctive manner you have no concept of reality.god bless you sir.
Condolences goes out to the Family. Walters, you are in my prayers man. Sorry for your loss.
how,how,how .the fire and ambulance is walking distance away from that house .even the scream for help could have allerted them.poor woman,poor family,..r.i.p ma peedis.you will always be in our hearts
Rest in peace jaunty.
This is a heart broken story.rest in peace Mrs.Walters.
oh my god .what a sad story .i saw you just a few months ago when my father passed and even though you was sick you gave me courage.edith,triniboy,ana,and the others sorry to hear that,theres no words to describe that .r.i.p ma pedis ,my familly will always remember you
Edith, my prayers are with you and your family during this trying time.
What a sad Sunday . To the family members of the decease , I extend my heart felt sympathies . May the power and love of God sustain you during your moment of loss and grief ! Again , my condolences .
Tragic indeed. May her soul RIP. Kudos to those wo tried to assist.
call the professionals on time so that they can do there work without loseing the lost of life dont blame the fire personnel they did a good job
thats true kudos to the firemen out ther who try to save a life also to the two guys or neighbour who try to help also deepest sympathy to the immediate family.god is with you through this difficult time.he never gives us more than we can bear.may god continue to guide and protect us as a nation.we shall overcome the dark with the light of hop.
persons need to contact the fire service emidiately
Hopeless on the fire service in our country I guess they arrived very late but where was the police
Very trajic and sad. We need to try to start thinking about smoke detectors in DA. My condolences to the family.
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