This is what one newspaper article said about my Mom's (Louise Palmer Korieba)death. The refrigerator that Fire Marshal Barry Overman refers to is a Roper Refrigerator manufactured by Whirlpool.
Reported by: Patrick Terpstra Dec.18,2007
An 87-year-old Elizabeth City woman died Tuesday morning after her home caught fire, despite a frantic attempt by neighbors to save her.
Motre Reid, who lives next to the home on Tuscarora Avenue, noticed smoke pouring out of the house around 9:00 a.m.
"I tried to get in and find her, but I couldn't," he said. "I had to come back out because the smoke overpowered me."
His step-daughter, Kiara Riddick, tried to go in, but the smoke overpowered her, as well.
The two of them waited for the firefighters to arrive, but it was too late.
"It's just a tragedy that we lost her," said Riddick. "The neighborhood will not be the same without her."
Elizabeth City,NC Fire Marshal Barry Overman said the fire started in the refrigerator. It was a minor fire, but was accompanied with a lethal dose of smoke.
Firefighters found the woman, identified as Louise Palmer Koreiba, on a couch in a den.
They pulled her out of the house and performed CPR in the front yard, but she never regained consciousness.
Overman said that though the rescue attempt was selfless, it was a dangerous gamble.
"We tell everybody, every day, then if I were to be out somewhere and not have the big red trucks with me, I'd probably do the same thing," he said.
Koreiba had no local family, so firefighters boarded up the house, a sudden and painful reminder of the neighborhood's loss.
"I believe we could've saved her if we were there earlier," said Riddick. "We probably could've saved her eventually."
Firefighters found a smoke detector in the house, but it was so melted, it was impossible to determine whether it was working.
Reported by: Patrick Terpstra Dec.18,2007
An 87-year-old Elizabeth City woman died Tuesday morning after her home caught fire, despite a frantic attempt by neighbors to save her.
Motre Reid, who lives next to the home on Tuscarora Avenue, noticed smoke pouring out of the house around 9:00 a.m.
"I tried to get in and find her, but I couldn't," he said. "I had to come back out because the smoke overpowered me."
His step-daughter, Kiara Riddick, tried to go in, but the smoke overpowered her, as well.
The two of them waited for the firefighters to arrive, but it was too late.
"It's just a tragedy that we lost her," said Riddick. "The neighborhood will not be the same without her."
Elizabeth City,NC Fire Marshal Barry Overman said the fire started in the refrigerator. It was a minor fire, but was accompanied with a lethal dose of smoke.
Firefighters found the woman, identified as Louise Palmer Koreiba, on a couch in a den.
They pulled her out of the house and performed CPR in the front yard, but she never regained consciousness.
Overman said that though the rescue attempt was selfless, it was a dangerous gamble.
"We tell everybody, every day, then if I were to be out somewhere and not have the big red trucks with me, I'd probably do the same thing," he said.
Koreiba had no local family, so firefighters boarded up the house, a sudden and painful reminder of the neighborhood's loss.
"I believe we could've saved her if we were there earlier," said Riddick. "We probably could've saved her eventually."
Firefighters found a smoke detector in the house, but it was so melted, it was impossible to determine whether it was working.
Mom didn't have any family in North Carolina as we are all in California. She had two grandsons, Jay and Stevie, that loved her very much. Of course there's me, her only child.We talked everyday on the phone. There are still times that I reach for the phone to call her. She had spent the entire month of August with us a few months before her death and I will treasure that time forever.
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