A family of eight is now homeless after a fire of unknown origin destroyed their Recht Door Zee, Parfait Harmonie, West Bank Demerara home yesterday afternoon.
The fire which started at around 5:00 pm was seen coming from a back bedroom and quickly spread to other parts of the house, also destroying a smaller apartment next to it.
The building belonged to Lorna Fraser Robertson who said that she was in George-town when she received a phone call that her house was on fire. “I left to take some stuff to Georgetown to my son and just as I was about to enter into Demico I received a call, my daughter said that our house is on fire. I immediately dropped everything and came over,” the woman said.
“It is impossible, I didn’t leave anything on, it is impossible for this house to burn down just like this. I made sure I checked everything before I leave, and the children say that the fire started in my bedroom.”
She said that at the time of the fire, three of her grandchildren were at home. “They were in the yard because I had locked the front door, so it is impossible that the bedroom door would be open, they are saying that the fire started in the bedroom, something is wrong there.”
The woman said that she was also perplexed at the cause of the fire, noting that there was no light at the time of the fire. “All of the neighbours said that it was blackout, even the children so it can’t be an electrical fire, this is just strange.”
One of the younger occupants said that he and others quickly grabbed several buckets of water to douse the blaze, but it was too much and quickly spread to other parts of the house.
One of Robertson’s daughters who resided in a small apartment next to the house was also left homeless. “I now trying to build my house so is a small apartment next to my mother I living in, and my place get burnt too. Some of my stuff get to save, but not everything.”
Several residents in the area blasted the poor response of the fire service which they said took nearly an hour and a half to get to the location. “If the fire service had reached before, they could have saved at least part of the house. The fire start after five and they come after six,” an angry resident said.
