Quick response by residents averted what could have been a major catastrophe at Wismar yesterday afternoon.
A fire of electrical origin broke out in the home of the Perrys at 26 Silver City Wismar shortly after 4 pm, completely destroying a computer and scorching a wall.
According to the lone occupant of the house at the time, Danielle Marvil she was in the bottom flat when she heard a funny sound. She said she looked outside to see what was going on because, “the pole outside usually give a sound and so I thought it was that. But I hear a man shouting ‘Perry! Perry! Fire in your kitchen!” said the young woman.
She said she knew that the kitchen was relocated downstairs so she ran upstairs in the direction where the nieghbour had pointed and saw the computer and the electrical fittings on the wall on fire.
She said that a few persons quickly put out the fire with a few buckets of water.
The very shaken young woman said she was grateful that the situation did not escalate. Some residents said it was the quick response of an electrician who works with the Linden Utilities Services Co-op Society Ltd (LUSCSL) that saved the day.
Stabroek News caught up the LUSCSL worker Colin Melville aka ‘Curley’, who said he was working on a pole nearby and noticed the fire tender passing. He said he quickly discontinued what he was doing and followed the engine. “It’s a good thing I did that because things could have been worse. Despite they put out the fire with water, it had the potential to reignite,” he said.
He said the fire was caused by a overloaded circuit. He added that the company for which he works has been advising persons to change from the traditional fuse box and to install breaker panels in their homes and businesses. “If that was the case in this instance the circuit would have tripped and highly likely no serious damage would have occurred,” he said.
He added that the fuse in the home was faulty. The house was isolated until the family rectifies the internal problems.
