A fire of mysterious origin gutted an Enmore, East Coast Demerara (ECD) house on Tuesday night and the owner’s son has since been taken into police custody.
The fire, which began at around 9.15 pm Tuesday, was first spotted by a passerby, who sounded an alarm. Before residents who responded could have formed a bucket brigade, the fire quickly spread to other parts of the house.
At the time of the fire, the house was not occupied and occupants were called to the scene by neighbours.
Police yesterday said that the house, located at Lot 351 Hope, South Enmore, ECD, was occupied by the son of the property owner, who lived in an apartment on the bottom flat, as well as by Kendra Petrie and her daughters, who occupied the two-bedroom top flat. A neighbour yesterday said that after they learnt of the fire, they summoned the fire service, which responded sometime after and doused the flames.The woman, who did not provide a name, went on to explain that the gates to the yard of the house were closed and so persons who were willing to help were prevented from accessing the house.
She too noted that the house quickly went up in flames and suggested that it was because of the age of the building.
“The boys went out there and they could have help to out the fire but the gate was locked so they couldn’t have done anything. We had to wait on the fire service to come and out the fire,” the neighbour explained.
Meanwhile, the owner of the property, Bagwan Singh, says he resides in Haslington, New Scheme, ECD and was informed of the property being on fire via a phone call. The property, he noted, was passed down to him by his father.
He explained that because he suffers from hypertension and diabetes he was unable to travel to the scene on Tuesday night. The details surrounding the fire remain unclear to him, he said, while noting that he did not get a chance to speak to his son. Asked about Petrie and her children, he explained that they were in the process of moving and some of her belongings were left at the property.
Singh estimated his losses to be between $2 million and $3 million.
Police said the son was picked up while walking on the street some distance from the fire.
