A fire of unknown origin swept through a Land of Canaan, East Bank Demerara home early yesterday morning killing an elderly woman and her two grandchildren who had attempted to flee but were trapped inside by thick smoke and the raging flames.
The tragedy at the Lot 6 Old Road home claimed the lives of Basmat Arjune, 63; nine-year-old Melvina Singh; and five-year-old Shemar McPherson. Suresh Moreno, 24, escaped from the inferno after leaping from a veranda, but he sustained severe burn injuries. He was admitted to the Georgetown Public Hospital where his condition was listed as critical.
Moreno struggled to save his cousins shortly after the flames erupted, removing them from the bedroom and nestling them in his arms but they were separated when a door collapsed knocking him to the ground.
Arjune managed to run from her bedroom and got as far as the front door. She apparently struggled with the door but was unable to open it to get out.
It was around 1 am that Old Road residents reported hearing loud screams coming from the home and rushed outside to find it engulfed in flames. Within minutes, the structure was gone and the three occupants had perished.
The fire service showed up a while after the fire broke out and, according to residents, arrived without water. The fire tender had to travel to a neighbouring village to fill up and return. However, residents said it was already too late for the home and its occupants when the tender first showed up.
An inconsolable Jean Moreno, who lost her mother and two children in the blaze, stood outside of the levelled home yesterday and repeatedly asked `why?’. She was away at work when the fire broke out and rushed home to the devastating news.
“Is mommy and my babies! Is mommy and my babies! Why? How and why?” Jean Moreno said as neighbours and relatives hugged her. She has one surviving daughter who spent the night away from home.. The child was traumatised yesterday.
Jean Moreno told Stabroek News that the source of the fire was unknown. She related that power to the home had been cut a few weeks ago and they were using lamps. However, she was adamant that the lamps were always put out before they went to bed leaving the home in complete darkness. She said persons in the area confirmed that the fire started in the lower flat of the two-storey structure where no one was at the time, adding that this was strange and puzzling.
The woman recalled that in the past three weeks there had been two break-ins at the home. She resided in the lower flat of the home while her mother and nephew, Suresh lived upstairs. In the first instance, money was stolen from her and in the other, a meal she had prepared was eaten.
Recounting to this newspaper what her nephew Suresh told from his hospital bed about the incident, Moreno said they had all retired to bed. Her two children were left in the care of her mother since she had to work. An intense heat awakened Suresh and he jumped out of his bed to see flames in the home.
Suresh rushed to his grandmother’s room but she was not there. Smoke was thick in the home and the fire was spreading so he ran to where the children were sleeping and awakened them. The boy and girl could not bear the smoke so he removed most of his clothes and covered their faces.
Moreno said Suresh had both of her children in his arms and was making his way out of the burning house when a door fell on them. The children were flung in different directions. When Suresh managed to get up, he could not find them. He called out to them but there was no response. She said her nephew did not want to leave the home without the children or his grandmother but he was forced to get out when the fire engulfed the entire upstairs.
Suresh jumped from the verandah and managed to get up and run into the street where residents ran to his aid. He was rushed to the Diamond Diagnostic Centre where he was treated and transferred to the city shortly after.
According to Moreno, Suresh is torn apart by the incident and is not accepting that he did enough. She said the family is trying hard to get him to calm down and focus on recovering.
Arjune was described as a humble woman who never showed anyone a bad face. She was well liked in the area and was remembered as the woman who showed up for service at church one hour in advance.
Another daughter, Camille Moreno said her mother had been ill for three months and had been staying at her up to a few days ago, when she went back to Land of Canaan.
The fire also destroyed a section of Mahendra Brijmohan’s home, which is next to the burnt out home. Brijmohan was awakened by an intense heat near his bed. He recalled that the fire was singeing the section of the home where his bedroom was, forcing him and his family to flee.
Residents assisted in a bucket brigade that he started soon after, which helped to save the house from further destruction. He said a number of items in his home were destroyed by the heat alone. But he pointed out that items can be replaced while his neighbours have lost their lives.
