A fire of mysterious origin destroyed a section of a Mahaicony, East Coast Demerara businesswoman’s house late Monday night, leaving her counting millions of dollars in losses.
Monica Manohar said she was asleep in her bedroom at her Lot 7, Cottage, Mahaicony residence when she was awakened by her nephews, who forced their way into the home to rescue her from the fire.
Manohar said when she entered her living room, smoke was emanating from a room at the back of her home. She said her two nephews, who were nearby, rushed her to the bottom of the house while neighbours worked to put out the blaze.
The traumatized woman noted that the room in question is normally occupied by her son, who is overseas. The room is not grilled and she could not recall whether any of its windows were left open, as was sometimes by her son.
Manohar normally trades items such as clothing, colognes, shoes and, recently, electrical devices. Her stock is normally stored in the room which was destroyed. She estimated her losses to be more than $10M.
One of Manohar’s nephews told Stabroek News that he was in a yard opposite his aunt’s home sometime around 11:30 on Monday night when he observed a “large light” illuminating the room at the back of the house. He said he immediately alerted his brother and their friends and the group successfully broke down the door of the house to rescue the woman and put out the fire.
The man said no one could determine how the fire started. He noted that he carried out electrical installations to the home, which was recently completed after about four years. He said the electrical outlets, switches and light bulbs within the room were all intact or partially scorched after the fire, which ruled out an electrical origin. He added that the firemen, whom he noted arrived at the scene an hour after the fire started and when the flames were already extinguished, also noted that the fire was mysterious. Firemen also questioned Manohar about whether she had any grievances with anyone recently and she responded in the negative.
The ceiling within the room was removed during the efforts to prevent the fire from spreading to other parts of the house. A conspicuous dark spot was evident at the centre of the room, where a bed once stood and Manohar’s nephew posited that this may be where the fire started.
Fire service officials were expected to revisit the scene yesterday to carry out further investigations into the incident.
