By Keith Lacey
Pearl Shaw?s concern and love for her great-grandchildren ended her life.
 |
|
bottom
Pearl Shaw |
It became evident in early testimony at a coroner?s inquest which started Monday that Shaw died heroically trying to save the life of her great-grandchildren, Asha-Jade and Ellias McLean.
Shaw was babysitting the two young children when flames broke out just after noon on a sunny day on April 22, 2001.
A disoriented Shaw stumbled out of the home, but quickly realized the children were trapped inside. She went back inside to rescue them, said neighbour Carole Croteau, one of the first of many neighbours who acted heroically that tragic day.
?Pearl came out as I was on the phone (dialling 9-1-1) and she went back in,? said an emotional Croteau. ?Doug (her husband) grabbed for her, but she yelled ?Oh my God, the kids? and he didn?t have a chance to grab her.
?She was disoriented and was wobbling around and grabbing her face. She was outside for only a few seconds.?
Her husband went into the burning home after Shaw, ?but didn?t get very far because the smoke was too heavy,? she said.
She tried to go inside but was overcome by intense heat and smoke.
Bobbi McLean, the mother of the two deceased children, told members of the media that her great-grandmother deserves the title of hero.
It?s expected the inquest will hear how Shaw managed to make her way from the front of the home, through smoke and flames to where Asha-Jade, 3, and Ellias, 4, were trapped.
Investigators later found all three huddled together in the basement after floors and walls collapsed due to the intense flames.
Other heroes have emerged judging from testimony early at the inquest.
Neighbour Richard Beaudry testified how a large group of neighbours gathered at the front of the home and tried frantically to unroll water hoses.
One firefighter entered the home and was inside for at least two minutes when he emerged covered in soot and had to roll around ?in agony? on the front lawn, said Beaudry.
Neighbour Gerard Nickner testified he knocked on the front door after the fire broke out and was surprised when no one answered and the door suddenly burst open.
?I saw a big gush of smoke coming out,? he said. ?I couldn?t see inside at all. I tried to go inside, but the heat was getting intense and the smoke was choking me.?
Nickner and another man recognized the potential for disaster as the home was heated with natural gas and managed to turn off the natural gas valve with flames and smoke near them, he said.
