Pinay nanny saves wards from burning house in NY

A Filipina saved her employer’s children and friends from a raging house fire in Stowe, Vermont, a report from the Philippine Consulate General in New York said yesterday.

Hazel Reposo, a native of Negros, saved the four young children of her employers, Daniel Wood and his wife, and the couple’s two friends.

Consulate General Cecilia Rebong said in a report to Foreign Affairs Secretary Alberto Romulo that Reposo received $25,000 as a gift from her wealthy employers for her selfless act.

The consulate learned about the incident when Reposo sought to get a new Philippine passport since the old one was lost in the fire together with her other belongings.

The Filipina’s story was also published in the Filipino Reporter, a local newspaper.

Reposo said one of the children told her of the fire coming out of the garage door of the 4,500-square foot luxury home.

"The fire alarm went off, and I immediately ordered the children to abandon the house. I called up 911 on my mobile phone and then my employers," she said.

Reposo’s employers acknowledged her heroism and her quick thinking, saying they will be "forever grateful" to her.

"The $25,000 was not a reward but was meant for the education of Hazel’s son. She took care of our most precious possessions – our children," they said.

The 30-year-old Filipina, a business management graduate of the University of Negros Occidental-Recoletos, has been working as a nanny since November 2003. She left the Philippines for the sake of her five-year-old son to work in Bermuda together with her parents and two siblings.