A fire of unknown origin yesterday morning destroyed an Albouystown building, resulting in 11 persons losing their homes.
The response time of the Guyana Fire Service was blamed for the failure to save the bottom flat of the two-storey Lot 145 James and Victoria streets, Albouystown house, although an official later said the fire-fighters did an excellent job by preventing damage to surrounding properties.
Lisa Ashby, one of the occupants of the house, said that the fire started at about 9am.
At that time, she had gone to the bottom flat of the house, where her paralysed father, Vonray Ashby, resided. There was a blackout, she noted, and she went into her father’s room to check to see if the electricity had returned but instead heard someone from outside screaming “fire!”
“All I hear is ‘Fire! Fire!’ and when I looked upstairs, I see the fire from the top flat coming from one of the rooms. But I could not have gone up to save anything because my father been downstairs,” a visibly-shaken Ashby told Stabroek News.
The woman added that she was unable to save anything from the home. Her two children, who were among the three children living in the home, were at school at the time of the fire, she noted.
Junior Melville, a resident, complained that the bottom flat of the house could have been saved if the Guyana Fire Service responded promptly to calls made by many residents. “When I call them, they asking for name and location and how long the fire happened. They then arrive like an hour late with no water with the bottom flat already done start ketch,” Melville said, while noting that it was he and other men from the area who helped saved the elderly Vonray Ashby from the burning building.
Fire Prevention Officer Andrew Holder, who was present at the scene, said he was unable to say how long it took fire-fighters to respond. However, he said that they are always on the alert when fires are reported and teams are dispatched immediately, with a turn out time of no less than three minutes. “Whether it is a prank call or a serious incident, we reply promptly,” Holder said.
Holder added that the fire-fighters did an excellent job by preventing the other houses in close proximity from being burned or scorched.