February 22, 2008
5-Year-Old, Left Alone by Brother, Dies in Queens Fire
Yesterday, a two-alarm fire broke out in a Corona home and after firefighters put it out, they found the body of 5-year-old Jason Guallpa, curled up behind a TV. The police later arrested his 24-year-old brother Diego with endangering the welfare of a child.
Diego Guallpa was supposed to be baby-sitting his younger brother, but he decided to meet his accountant and file his tax returns. He left little Jason in the home alone (a neighbor noticed the door was locked and didn't hear any noises); though 100 firefighters arrived, they didn't know a child was in the first-floor apartment (there was also "heavy fire upon arrival").
FDNY Assistant Chief John Acerno said, "Sometimes, children in a fire will go into a corner or try to go into a toy chest or a closet and try to hide from the fire. That's what it looks like here...The 5-year-old was found in the bedroom, behind a TV, with a lot of debris on top of him."
The fire, which was not deemed suspicious, started in the kitchen. The mother, Elvia Guallpa, who works as a housekeeper, cried, "I didn't leave him home alone, I left him with his brother."
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oh no.
Parents, teach your kids what to do in a fire. Tell them they have to get out and not just hide from the fire, which is the worst thing they could possibly do because then even the firefighters can't find them.
Good job Diego. Hope you're getting a refund at least.
This is awful. "So I slip out for an hour or two while the kid's watching tv; what could happen?" The worst things only have to happen once at long odds to ruin lives. Keep an eye on those kids! They're little and need our help.
How sad. If this guy wasn't already the black sheep of the family, he is now.
Ugh, so terrible.
Sad, poor little guy.
24 years old & this moron thought it would be ok to leave a 5-year-old alone? i'm glad he was arrested.
Similar situation to this retard who left her son alone:
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2005/06/12/MNGJND7G5L1.DTL&hw=faibish&sn=001&sc=1000
What kind of scumbag move is that to leave your 5 year old brother home alone for that long? Hopefully this idiot doesn't have any kids of his own.