A Drysdale Street, Charlestown, fire has left four persons dead, including three children, and another critical at the Georgetown Public Hospital after it gutted the upper flat of a house around 6am yesterday.
The fire claimed the lives of Abiola Taylor, 23, and her four year-old son, Justin Taylor; Akeisha Cordis, one year; and Caleisha Solomon, 3 years, all of Drysdale Street. The fourth victim, Yolanda Cordis, 20, is in a critical condition at the hospital nursing third degree burns. Her two daughters Akeisha and Caleisha perished in the fire. Cordis was pulled from the burning building and rushed to the hospital by some policemen who responded to a call. The two women were cousins who had been living together.
It is unclear in which part of the house the fire began, but neighbours said that from all indications, the occupants of the building were all asleep when the fire started.
A quick response by the Guyana Fire Service prevented the fire from spreading to other buildings nearby. Nothing was saved from the upper flat of the house where the fire started, but the occupant of the lower flat said that all her things were damaged by the water used to extinguish the flames.
At the scene yesterday scores of person from the neighbourhood gathered to get a glimpse of the charred remains as they were removed from the building. The woman who lived in the lower flat said she was not at home when the fire began but got a call at her workplace informing her of the fire.
