While millions of dollars went up in flames in a fire last Sunday afternoon at Nurney Village, East Berbice-Corentyne, residents and public-spirited citizens stormed into the yard to lift a BMW out from under the blazing house. Fire engulfed photographer Sherwin Sinclair’s two-storeyed home around 4.45pm, shortly after electricity had been restored to the community. Sinclair’s neighbour said he heard another neighbour shouting fire!
And looked out of a window where he saw smoke emanating from the rear of the house.
At that point, he said, he sounded an alarm and his family alerted Sinclair, the sole occupant of the house.
Other residents said after power had been restored for the third time they heard an explosion and ventured out to investigate when they saw Sinclair’s house in flames.
Meanwhile, Sinclair who was not at home when the fire started said by the time he arrived on the scene residents had already removed his car and several pieces of furniture from the bottom flat of the house.
They had also started a bucket brigade to contain the blaze and prevent it from spreading to nearby properties. While he lost most of the equipment needed for his job and assessed his losses “in the millions”, Sinclair was grateful to his neighbours and other residents who rendered their assistance, particularly the 26 persons who lifted the vehicle out from under the blaze.
Two fire trucks responded to the scene and managed to contain the inferno even though they ran out of water and were forced to source it from a nearby trench. Residents are grateful that both of the houses next door were saved, though they suffered water damage, and that the fire service had managed to contain the fire before it had gutted the entire building.
However, when GPL’s emergency crew arrived on the scene observers expressed disappointment over the fact that there were experiencing frequent power outages during the day.
