A fire believed to have been started by vagrants burning electrical wire for copper gutted an unoccupied house at 106 Croal Street yesterday morning.
According to a neighbour, Mrs Correia, she was in her kitchen between 8.30 am and 9 am when she heard a crackling sound. She said when she went outside on her veranda she saw thick plumes of smoke coming from the building next door.
The woman told this newspaper that the Fire Service was summoned by the Gentlewomenโs Home located on Brickdam. According to the woman, the house has been vacant since August last year. Her daughter pointed out that in December, there was a small fire in what appeared to be a storage shed behind the house.
A vagrant is usually seen in an empty lot behind the gutted house. It is suspected that the fire may have been started by vagrants since there is no electricity at the house. Mrs Correia said she has seen attorney-at-law Robert Hanoman visiting the residence on a few occasions but she does not know who owns the place.
