Almost a dozen persons including several children are now homeless after a fire last evening gutted two Princes Street, Georgetown dwellings.
The fire which started around 6:30 pm raced through two cottages and scorched another. The cottages are located close to each other.
One of the houses, Lot 32 Princes Street, Georgetown was occupied by Clifton Moseley, 55, his wife, Gloria Barry and their four grandchildren.
Moseley, who was being comforted by residents of the community said he was on his way home when he noticed thick smoke in the vicinity where his house is located. He said he later saw a crowd before learning that it was his house which was on fire.
The man related that based on what he was told his family didn’t save anything from the house they have been occupying for the past ten years. He was however, grateful for life.
Barry on the other hand was at home when the fire started. She had just exited the house to fill a bucket of water when she noticed smoke and raised an alarm.
Officer-in-Charge of Operations at the Guyana Fire Service (GFS), Compton Sparman praised the fire-fighters for a job well done. He said while the fire hydrants in the area could not have been located, the water supply from four fire tenders that responded to the fire and a quantity from a trench along Princes Street was sufficient to extinguish the fire.
The other house provided a shelter for five other persons. A resident who was described as an asthmatic was rushed to the Georgetown Public Hospital.
A resident related that he was proceeding along the road when he heard a loud explosion. “It sound really hard and I know something wasn’t right”, he said. The man said after he enquired he noticed two children run onto the roadway screaming that their house was on fire. At that time persons in the area had already begun forming bucket brigades and he assisted.
An investigation has since been launched.
