A condemned two-storey building at the south-western corner of High and Barrack streets, Kingston, was yesterday afternoon completely gutted by fire, leaving dozens homeless and destroying huge amounts in valuables and household items.
At least 70 persons, from about 16 families, occupied the building up to yesterday morning, this newspaper was told.
The fire started sometime after 2 pm and was brought under control by the Guyana Fire Service at about 3:15 pm. Nearby buildings, including the local Inter-American Bank (IDB) office, were also scorched.
A resident, Patricia Cornette, said that the blaze started in the kitchen of one of the other residents. “I went downstairs sitting down and I went and go upstairs to mek me son porridge and when I coming back down de step I see a lady pointing and saying look smoke coming from upstairs,” Cornette said. “So I run up by de step and I calling fuh de people dem who does live inside de room right and I telling dem fire in de kitchen…so the boy run outside and I tell he kick down de door and before de kick down de door, they hustling to go fuh key to open de door. They tek long with de key and by time de go for open de kitchen door the fire just buss out,” Cornette said. It is believed that a pot was on the stove, at the time, this newspaper was told. According to Cornette, the kitchen belonged to a woman who also rented another apartment where she would usually dwell.
Cornette has been living in an apartment in the house with her common-law husband and six children. She said that she was not able to save any of her valuables. “I geh plenty thing in deh, plenty thing,” she said. “I geh TV set, meh chest-of-drawer, meh bed, everything wah I geh in deh is wah meh buy about two year now,” she said.
As the flames destroyed his home, Steve La Rose sat at the street corner sobbing. His mother and sister stood by him, offering comforting words but La Rose’s wails only got louder. “Is out on the seawall I been selling and trying to make a dollar when meh stepson call me and tell me that we house on fire,” La Rose recounted. “By de time I reach down here de whole thing been on fire.”
La Rose told Stabroek News that he had lived in the building for just over five years. All his valuables, including his identification and travel documents, were destroyed during the blaze. The man said that he has nowhere to stay and it will be difficult for “me to get on meh foot dem again.”
“This place was like a palace fuh we,” La Rose said. “Everything, all meh things gone now, me ain’t know where I going to stay now and my family struggling too, so it going to be hard for them to look after me and my family.”
Later, as fire-fighters started winding down their activities, La Rose shouted at them in a fit of rage. “Why y’all come eh? Y’all ain’t mek no sense coming here, y’all come without water and y’all nah save nothing,” she shouted at them.
Another resident, Lisa Joseph was lamenting her losses when Stabroek News spoke to her. The mother of two had been living in the house for several years. She said she was in the yard when she was alerted to the fire but was unable to save anything.
Virginia Romascindo, another resident, was out when she received a phone call telling her about the fire. She had left home sometime after 1 pm with her two grandchildren to carry lunch for her husband, who is a corporal of the Guyana Police Force attached to the Office of the President. The woman said she would have lost all her belongings, including key documents connected to the house that the couple was now starting to build.
Some residents told this newspaper that they had been asked to move from the house previously but that they did not move simply because they had nowhere to go.
Fire Chief Marlon Gentle told reporters on the scene that the immediate aim of the fire service was to contain the blaze. According to him, there were some challenges since the firemen had to pump water at high pressure, which resulted in two hoses being damaged. He said that the hoses were not designed to take such pressure. Gentle expressed satisfaction at the efforts of the firemen. According to him they were successful at their efforts at containment, though nearby structures—to the south of the engulfed building as well as the roof of the IDB—were all slightly scorched.
The burnt building, Gentle said, had engaged the attention of the Fire Service since 2007. “We’ve tried to get this building torn down for sometime,” he said. It had been deemed unsafe because of the age of the structure and a fire hazard, he said. According to him, he had been told by the City Engineer that there were several issues that had prevented the building from being pulled down.
“We have identified over the last three years some 27 buildings that we think are very dangerous,” Gentle said. “These buildings as long as they remain standing they are certainly hazardous and these [fires] could be some of the effects,” Gentle said. Of the 27 buildings that have been pronounced upon by the Fire Service, only about three have been pulled down, he disclosed. He said in these cases, it was mainly the owners that had taken action and pulled them down.
Demolish
Georgetown Mayor Hamilton Green, who was also present at the scene, said that City Council had made numerous attempts to demolish the property but noted that prevailing social conditions, particularly the lack of alternative housing, had stymied the process. The last attempt the Council made was in December, Green said. He said about 70 to 80 persons occupied the place.
“There’s also the question of ownership. We gave notice to the owner on our books. It’s a very complicated thing because apparently somebody had applied for prescriptive rights at one time… one gentleman claimed that he’s paid up all the taxes because he has a legal interest in it,” he said. He said it may be necessary for the courts to make a determination as to who is the owner of the property.
“Our responsibility is if a building is in a ruinous state we give notice for the owner to have it demolished in the interest of human safety….in circumstances where the owners do not respond we could demolish the building and attach the costs to the owner’s taxes. Where there is occupancy, we tend to put a human face because of all the circumstances and seek assistance for the person to find alternative accommodation.”
Green suggested that it may be time for the Council to change this policy and just go ahead and demolish, but he noted that it may face an outcry from the same persons who are calling for buildings to be demolished, especially in situations where demolition could affect children.
Meanwhile, businessman Maurice Sukhoo told Stabroek News that he recently purchased the building from a man who now resides in Canada. He said that he had approached the City Council on numerous occasions to have the persons vacate the premises but nothing was done. His most recent attempt was made just last week. Sukhoo, who lives right next to the building in question, had the side of his house badly scorched by the fire.
By Mark McGowan
and Sara Bharrat
