-including three children
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 Cort, 25, and her three year-old son, Justin Kellman; Akesha Cordis, one year, and Kelisha Solomon, 3 years, all of Drysdale Street. The fourth victim, Yolanda Cordis, 20, is in a critical condition in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) at the hospital nursing third degree burns. Her two daughters Akesha and Kelisha 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 it started. They also said that young men in the community tried to break the front verandah door to enter the building but were prevented from doing so by the heat.
Fire Chief Marlon Gentle, when contacted yesterday, said that he is unable to comment on the issue since the investigations are ongoing. However, a relative of the deceased said that she recalled one of the occupants had complained about electrical wires sparking in the building.
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 people 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.
Lewellyn Dick, who lives in the same yard where the fire started, said, “This morning when I come out from the back all I hear is fire! fire!.. We start dashing water really quick an kick down the door.” The neighbour also added that they only became aware that persons were in the building when the police got inside and pulled out one of the women. “We aint had no knowledge that people inside,” he continued, “but the fire was really plenty… one of them girl [occupants] came home from work this morning but like she fell to sleep cause she mussy de tired.”
Fazaal Khan, who lives in the house next door to the burnt building, said he heard the children in the house screaming and when he looked out he saw the fire in the front verandah of the building. He added, “I then call the fire service and dem boys start to soak my house and de house next door.”
Relatives of the family turned up at the scene yesterday but they were unable to say what had transpired. They burst into loud wail as the remains of their loved ones were taken away.
