A fire on Sunday evening, suspected to be an act of arson, completely gutted a Good Intent, West Bank Demerara house belonging to popular Disc Jockey (DJ), Dorel Romeo called ‘DJ Magnum’ and quick action by the Guyana Fire Service prevented the blaze from spreading to nearby houses.
The fire, which began around 11.30 pm quickly engulfed the Lot 238 Good Intent wooden house belonging to Romeo. He estimated his losses at around $3 million.
Residents in the area recalled seeing two women fleeing the scene. At the time, Romeo, who was the lone occupant of the house, was not at home.
Commander of ‘D’ Division Leslie James told Stabroek News that based on reports received Romeo secured his home on Sunday afternoon. Hours later, he received a call informing him of the fire. By time he arrived at the scene, the house was already destroyed. Romeo managed to save nothing.
Prevention Officer of the Guyana Fire Service Andrew Holder said that while arson was suspected, confirmation would await the completion of an investigation which has been launched.
When this newspaper arrived at the scene, occupants of a neighbouring house were seen inspecting their damage. Almost all of the windows located on the northern side of their house had shattered panes and the guttering on their roof was damaged from the intense heat.
Romeo described the incident as very unfortunate and shocking, noting that it was a sad day. He explained that he was playing music for an event held at the creek on Sunday evening when he learnt of the fire after receiving a telephone call from a friend. “I left home around 3 something Sunday afternoon because I had to play at the creek and my phone was on silent. But when I checked, I saw countless missed calls and messages,” he said, adding that he immediately sensed that something was amiss.
“My neighbour called me asking where I am and he told me that my house gone… It catch fire and burn down,” he further explained.
Romeo said he immediately left for home, but when he arrived the fire had already been extinguished. “I pass to drop a friend around 10 o’clock that night at the village after me and everything was good and intact,” he related. He said while it was unclear what might have led to the incident, he was told that persons in the area recalled seeing two women exiting a car and entering his premises. About ten minutes after they left, a loud explosion was heard and the house was engulfed in flames. “I was told they came out the car and do what they had to do and the car drive up the road and when they finish it pick them up back,” Romeo said.
Romeo said that as the situation was at present he would not point a finger at anyone, noting that there was no evidence linking anyone to the act. “Being the most controversial DJ, I do have a lot of enemies both males and females. I have received threats in the past but not as of recently,” he said. He then added, “Maybe someone’s heart was broken and they can’t control their emotions so they thought it was the best way to get back to me.”
A neighbour, Lloyd Haywood, said he was with some friends imbibing when they noticed huge flames in the middle of the house. The man said they immediately raised an alarm and the fire service was alerted.
“Before they arrived we started to take buckets of water to aid in putting out the fire,” Haywood said.
Residents in the community commended the firefighters for their quick response, which prevented the fire from spreading to nearby buildings located close to each other.
