MAHANOY CITY-- It was a horrifying sight as flames shot from the windows of 329 Center Street in Mahanoy City just before 2 a.m. Saturday.
Firefighters were called in from neighboring departments, but the flames were just too fierce to save the lives of Adele and Morris "Butch" Seabra.
Their houseguest, Edward Droginis, was pulled from the house and taken to Lehigh Valley Hospital Center.
Butch and Adele were a familiar sight in the neighborhood. They often sat on the porch of #327 which they also owned. While some neighbors described them as quiet, the people who knew them well remembered their generosity.
Wayne Fetterman, a member of their extended family says, "They would give their shirt off their back for anybody. They always invited people over, the older people, for dinners and around the holidays and stuff. They would just do anything for anyone."
Fetterman adds that the pair even put up their next door neighbor when he lost his home to foreclosure.
But as big-hearted as the couple was, they had almost unbelievable misfortune when it came to fires.
Their son, Joe, who lives in Florida, spoke with Newswatch 16 by phone. He says this is the family's fourth home to go up in flames since 1979. Back in August of 1996, a fire at their home on East Mahanoy Street spread to a number of adjoining homes.
The home at 329 Centre was a different story. It had a brick firewall that prevented the flames from spreading, something not found in many of the community's row homes.
Tony Blackwell, a Safety Officer with the Mahanoy City Fire Department, says, "We are very fortunate this particular building had firewalls and we were able to contain the fire to one building."
According to family members, funeral services for Butch and Adele Seabra will be held Wednesday at Truskowsky’s Funeral Home in Mahanoy City. The viewing begins at 9 a.m. with the memorial service following at 11.