– despite son’s desperate attempt to save him
The heroic efforts of a son to rescue his sick father from their burning home yesterday afternoon were not enough as the elderly man perished in the blaze, which destroyed the house at Stewartville, West Coast Demerara.
The dead man is 81-year-old Gul Mohamed who resided in the upper flat of the Lot 54 Stewartville Housing Scheme with his son Abdul Mohamed and Abdul’s wife and children.
According to a police release issued last evening, the fire took place around 3 pm and completely destroyed the two-storey wooden building. The release said Gul Mohamed, who was physically challenged, was trapped in the burning building despite desperate efforts by his son to save him. The police said personnel from the Guyana Fire Service extinguished the fire and the body of Gul Mohamed was subsequently recovered and is at the West Demerara Regional Hospital (WDRH) mortuary. The cause of the fire is yet to be determined, the police said.
Abdul Mohamed known as ‘Rasho’ related to this newspaper that he was in the yard working when somebody alerted him that his home was on fire. He said he immediately ran upstairs to try to rescue his father who was alone in the building at the time. According to him, by the time he reached upstairs, the fire had consumed most of the upper flat and it was difficult to manoeuvre in the building. He said he made a desperate effort to save his father but he was unable to reach his father in time. According to him his father had attempted on his own to escape but reportedly fell in his bid to vacate the house. “Me ole man fight for he life and me still wasn’t able fuh save he,” the distraught son said.
‘Rasho’, who suffered burns to his feet and back, said he did not know what could have caused the blaze since nothing was on the stove at the time and no electrical appliances were in use. There was a blackout at the time of the fire, this newspaper was told.
According to ‘Rasho’ his father was sick and had only been recently discharged from hospital. He said his father was staying with him, his wife Bibi Nazima Beharry and their three sons.
Another of Gul’s son’s Raheem Mohamed lived in the bottom flat of the two-storey house with his wife and two children. The nine dislocated people were forced to spend last evening with relatives who live in the community.
‘Rasho’ said he was unable to save anything from the building but commended the Guyana Fire Service for its prompt response. The man, who has been living in the house for 33 years, told this newspaper that he was determined to rebuild his home.