The Ministry of Social Protection yesterday presented relief packages to two Princes Street, Georgetown families that lost their homes to fire this week.
The presentations were made yesterday afternoon in the compound of the ministry’s Lamaha Street, Georgetown office by Minister of Social Protection Amna Ally.
Mark James received the donations on behalf of his household, which included Clifton Moseley, Gloria Barry, Latoya Spencer, Cordell Spencer and two children, ages 1 and 6 years old, while Simone Morrise received the donation on behalf of her household, including Hazel Morrise, Terry Bruce, Carol Lovell and an 11-year-old child.
Apart from the two households, another fire victim, Rosemarie Abrams, who suffered losses last Friday after a fire gutted three buildings in Kitty, had requested cleaning items and paint during a meeting with the minister and she was presented with the former yesterday. Ally promised that she will received the paint soon.
Over the past two weeks, there has been a noticeable increase in fires. During this week, four homes have been destroyed.
On Wednesday evening, a fire quickly razed the two Princes Street, Georgetown homes, which were located close to each other. Firefighters, however, managed to prevent the fire from spreading to nearby buildings.
Moseley had related to this newspaper that he was on his way home when he noticed thick smoke in the vicinity of his home. 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 that they had been occupying for the past ten years.
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.
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 added that after he enquired, he noticed two children run onto the roadway while screaming that their house was on fire. At that time, persons in the area had already started forming bucket brigades and he assisted.
Last Friday, a huge fire destroyed three buildings including a beer garden, leaving more than one dozen persons counting their losses at Sandy Babb and Railway streets, Kitty.
The fire was suspected to have been deliberately set.
According to reports gathered by this newspaper, the suspect and his brother, who together occupied an apartment in the lower flat of one of the buildings, had an altercation during which the suspect allegedly threatened to kill his brother and burn the house down. He allegedly set a mattress on fire and ran away.
The victims, during their brief remarks yesterday, thanked the ministry for the assistance. “I want to say thanks a lot for the contributions. We are very grateful and will make the best use of it,” one of the victims said.
