Retired educator perishes in fire in Marlie Mount

The St Catherine Fire Department said they received a call at 4:33 am of a house on fire located on Morning Side Drive in the upscale community situated just on the outskirts east of the Old Harbour town area.

Two fire units assisted with containing the blaze in the five-bedroom house reportedly valued at $25 million.

When the smoke cleared only “her skull” was visible in Anglin’s room, her nephew Wayne Clarke, told Old Harbour News.

According to Clarke, he was alerted of the fire “some minutes to four o’clock” by his cousins but could do nothing to save his aunt, who helped raised him when he was a child.

Anglin, a former principal of Good Hope Primary and retired justice of the peace, has been bed-ridden well over a decade now and is aided by three relatives, all adults who lived with her.

“About after three a go to four mi in a mi bed a sleep and mi hear mi cousin a shout out. By the time mi jump up and put on a pants mi draw fi a lass (cutlass) because mi check se a somebody (thief) com een pon dem. But when mi come round mi si mi cousin with a bath pan (with water) a run towards Aunt Daphne room. When mi reach to the door a pure fire mi si, by that time the fire a blaze.

“Mi couldn’t enter the room. Every time mi try fi go in a di room mi affi step back because the carpet and everything on fire already,” said a distraught Clarke, who has been living with his aunt over a 12-year period.

Prior to the tragedy, there was no naked flame in the room of the deceased, Clarke noted, adding that “not even a destroyer you could light in the house because she can’t tek the smoke”.

Firefighters are yet to determine the cause of the blaze, however, it is thought that an electrical short circuit may possibly be the reason. After extinguishing the fire, firefighters were twice summoned to the location this morning after the occupants observed thick smoke emanating from the roof.

But Clarke said the whole situation is a mystery to them given that no naked fire was in the aunt’s room, neither are they aware of any electrical issues on the house.

He said they managed to save very little, as the fire quickly engulfed the entire house. A section of the roof over his aunt’s bedroom caved in before firefighters arrived.

“Is like wi give up once we realize se we couldn’t save her. Everything else never matter. All mi energy gone, mi just get weak same time,” he said. 

Clarke said his aunt was a stern disciplinarian and was loved by everyone.