HOUSE FIRE KILLS WOMAN IN SUBURBAN BOYNTON
Investigators say fire in suburban Boynton Beach was accidental.
BOYNTON BEACH — When Brianna Porter and her family moved into the Arbor Glen community in suburban Boynton Beach, the first person to welcome them into the neighborhood was Deborah Bowe.
“She was the kind of neighbor everybody wants,” said Porter, who has lived in the community north of Gateway Boulevard and west of Military Trail since 2014.
Bowe, 62, died Monday morning in a fire at her home in the 5100 block of Arbor Glen Circle. Palm Beach County firefighters responded to the residence at 5 a.m. and managed to rescue her beloved Yorkshire terrier, Bimini, but were unable to save Bowe.
Palm Beach County Fire Rescue determined Monday that the fire was accidental and Bowe’s white home with turquoise trim, west of Military Trail and north of LeChalet Boulevard, did not have smoke detectors installed in it.
Neighbors said Bowe had lived in Arbor Glen for more than 10 years and was known for getting around in a golf cart she also used to give the community’s children a ride.
Porter said her daughter, Callie, and Bowe formed a tight bond during those rides. Callie turned 8 last week and Rowe dropped by her party, promising to take the girl shopping to her favorite store.
It’s the last time Porter, Callie or her other children spoke to Bowe, whose full name was Martha Deborah Bowe, the Palm Beach County’s Sherrif ’s Office said.
“My kids were very close to her,” Porter said. “They really loved her. It’s a difficult thing to explain to them.”
A woman who lives across the street from Bowe described her “as everyone’s favorite neighbor.” “She was the social life of Arbor Glen,” said Gina, who asked that her last name not be used. “Everybody on this street loved Debbie. Such a wonderful lady. It’s really a shock.”
Bowe was widowed and did not have any children, neighbors said.
According to the U.S. Fire Administration, Bowe is the first person in Palm Beach County this year to die in a house fire. As of Monday, 17 people in Florida had died in their homes as the result of a fire. Two people — a 55-yearold woman in Palm Beach Gardens and an unidentified woman living in a West Palm Beach assisted-living facility — died in fires in 2017.