The Guyana Fire Service is working with the belief that arson was the cause of the early morning fire at King and Robb streets which claimed the lives of two children on Monday, Fire Chief Marlon Gentle said yesterday.
Theresa and Clarissa Rozario, 12 and 14 years, respectively, perished in the blaze, while their father, Hilrod Thomas, suffered burns about his body and he is now a patient at the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation.
His condition was listed as stable up to yesterday and he was speaking.
Gentle told Stabroek News that based on the interviews and evidence acquired, the Guyana Fire Service is operating on the theory that the fire was caused by someone maliciously setting the house alight on Monday morning.
There had been unconfirmed reports that a person or persons unknown threw Molotov cocktails at the building.
Commander of ‘A Division Clifton Hicken informed this newspaper that he had no comment on the issue since arson was for now only mere speculation and had not been proven.
Thomas jumped from the burning building, after he was unable to save his trapped children from the fire, which started at around 2am.
He and his two daughters lived in the top flat of the three-storey building, while other parts of the building were occupied by small businesses.
Zamara Rozario, sister of the two girls, informed Stabroek News yesterday that she knew from the beginning that the fire was not caused by an electrical problem. She called on the police to deal with the matter seriously, while noting that it was not the first time that someone set the house on fire.
She added that the building has always been at the centre of a bitter dispute and a man, who she identified as “Buddy,” would often try to evict her father and sisters from the building.
In 2009, there was also an attempt to destroy the building by setting it on fire.
The fire was quickly extinguished by the Guyana Fire Service and the girls and their father were rescued on that occasion.
When approached for comment, Thomas’ brother, former minister in the PNC administration Jeffrey Thomas, stated that he wished not to make any comment since his major concern at that moment is to console his relatives.
