An 86 year old woman perished in a fire early this morning. Louise Berry was inside her small wooden home when the flames and smoke engulfed her home. Berry was trying to escape but the fire spread quickly and engulfed her. It is a devastating blow to a family who has already lost close loved ones. Courtney Weatherburne has more details.
Courtney Weatherburne reporting
Everyday Louise Berry would sell newspapers outside Brodies on Albert Street.
Berry would sit right beside her brother, who also tries to make a few bucks himself. But today instead of enjoying his sister's company, he has to settle for a freshly cut rose peering out of a water bottle.
His sister was burnt alive in a house fire early this morning around 1:00.
Gretel Lopez, Stepsister
"Well I was asleep and my son hollered to me but we taught it was something happening to him out there so we jumped up but when I reached the door, the kids were shouting fire Mom, fire."
Berry had locked the door from inside as she usually does. She was trying to get out but the door wouldn't open. By the time the fire department got inside, Berry had already perished. Gretel says she thinks it's her stepsister's curious candle custom that caused the fire.
Courtney Weatherburne, 7News
"You said she liked to light a lot of candles in the house?"
Gretel Lopez, Stepsister
"Yes, when she would take it and I don't see, you understand, she always says, yes we have to get e a candle and I tell her No, you have light."
"Even when I give her tea at night If I see her with any I would take it away from her but I can't take all the time because I don't see when she slides in and slide out."
Courtney Weatherburne
"So you think she lit it and went to sleep or something and it started?"
Gretel Lopez, Stepsister
"Yes, that is what I think happen."
But there isn't anything Berry's family can do now. Except remember all moments shared with her on her favorite chair and those spent every day with her brother at their favorite spot, a corner now shrouded in sadness.
John Berry, Brother
"She loved me you know, she loved me bad and I love her too, that is my sister."
Courtney Weatherburne
"So it was, growing up, it was only you two, you took care of each other?"
John Berry, Brother
"Me and my sister, my father died, my mother died, now she is gone, it is only me now."
The family says Berry's remains were by the door when the fire was extinguished.
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