Seven persons were left homeless after a late morning fire engulfed their home at Lot 66, Block 8, Mon Repos, East Coast Demerara.
The family is of the view that the fire was of electrical origin since it started in the ceiling.
When Stabroek News arrived at the scene the two-storey concrete house had already been gutted. Sattie Prittipaul told Stabroek News that around 11:30 am they were alerted by neighbours about the fire in the ceiling.
The family operated a grocery shop at the bottom flat of their home and was unsure of how much had been lost in the fire. Prittipaul said “I cannot say how much we lost, but it’s a lot we lost,” the family lost over a few million dollars since they were unable to save anything from the house which included their household items and business stocks.
She said that everything happened quickly and the house was already engulfed by flames when the fire service arrived some ½ hour later. Prittipaul however commended the fire-fighters for their assistance. While this newspaper was present, parts of the roof and ceiling were still in flames though the fire service had already left the scene.
Homeless are Geerdhal Prittipaul, Parbattie Balkaran, Ram Balkaran, Ajay Balkaran, Malini Prittipaul, Akash Prittipaul and Sattie Prittipaul.
The visibly distraught family was yesterday contemplating their next move and trying to pick up the pieces of their life after the fire.
