“When I look through the window this morning the whole place did red,” related one woman who witnessed the mishap.
The woman, who opted to share what she witnessed under anonymity, said she was awakened just after two by barking dogs.
She said she looked through her window to see what had her dogs agitated and noticed that the two-storey house, just four lots from her own home was on fire.
Residents say that the top flat of the home was occupied by a family of four while the bottom flat was occupied by a family of three.
The family which occupied the lower flat of the house was out when the fire started but the occupants of the upper flat were present. When Stabroek News arrived on the scene, neither of the two families was there as they had already relocated to other parts.
Eyewitnesses say none of the occupants who were at home were injured since they quickly evacuated the house after an intense heat was felt coming from somewhere in the house.
One man said he heard that the origin of the fire was electrical in nature. Fire Chief Marlon Gentle could not be reached yesterday to confirm this.
A single tender responded to the fire initially and the woman shared her opinion that the firefighters who came with the truck could have done much better. This opinion was held by several other residents who turned out yesterday morning to witness the fire.
“First thing them man tek too long fuh come, and when they reach they only spray fuh like three minutes before they water done, then they had to get water from a koker,” a male resident of the area said.
The man said that he believes the fire started around 02:30 hrs yesterday morning, and said that by the time he arrived on the scene a half hour later the top flat was levelled.
Another woman said that she even offered the firefighters her “yard pipe” as a source of water but was told that it would not be sufficient.
Real progress was made, the woman said, after a second tender was called from Timehri.
This tender was much larger than the first and seemed filled with water and soon after the tender’s arrival the firefighters were able to quell the fire, the woman said.
By this time however, the structure was completely gutted, and Stabroek News understands that the families were unable to save any of their possessions. Even their phones were burnt.
“The one that come last shudda come fuss,” said yet another witness, who also shared that many of the residents who turned out to witness the fire began to get annoyed with the firemen who, in their eyes, took too long to put the fire out.
