A family of seven lost its home yesterday afternoon when it was engulfed by flames in a fire, suspected to be electrical in origin, at Haslington, East Coast Demerara (ECD).
Brian London, Merle London and five of their nine children occupied the top flat of the two-storey house. The bottom flat was under construction.
The fire, which started around 1 pm, destroyed the fully furnished three-bedroom house within a fifteen-minute period.
At the site yesterday, the visibly-distressed Merle London said she was watching television, while two of her children were on the verandah when the fire started.
She was disturbed by sudden sparks coming from the main switch in the house. She added that as she tried to save important documents, she started to feel the heat. With all this happening, she said all she could have done was grab her two children and rush out of the house.
Soon after, the entire house went up in flames.
Merle and three of her children, Harmony, Ray and Luke, have already moved to a relative’s home in the area. The eldest of the children residing at the home is 19 and the youngest is three.
“My documents and millions of dollars in appliances and furniture, everything gone. Right now, what I have to focus on is to try get back my family together because I don’t know how long my family will keep up with me to stay at their place,” the woman said in a low tone.
She noted that sometimes the house encountered low voltage.
Neighbours and villagers voiced their concern that when the fire trucks arrived on the scene the house was already burnt and what is even worse is that they arrived with no water. Brian London, a mason, was seen crying as he was being comforted by neighbours and relatives. He was at work when he received a call about the fire and when he rushed home he found the burnt remains of the structure.
Having lost everything in the fire, the London family is asking for assistance to rebuild their home. They can be contacted on telephone numbers 663-5150, 660-7399 and 662-4556.
