A fire of unknown origin yesterday afternoon des-troyed a five-bedroom, two-storey house at Fyrish, Corentyne, leaving six persons, including a minor, homeless.
Uma Androod, of Lot 3 Fyrish Village, Corentyne, related that she, along with her husband, six-year-old son, mother-in-law and father-in-law, resided in the house.
She explained that they were all downstairs when her mother-in-law suddenly saw flames emanating from the back room located on the upper flat of the house. “…the place a back we a concrete up and then me mother-in-law come from side and start holla, ‘Fire! Fire deh in a house!’ But by time abie can run upstairs, you can’t go upstairs, fire done take a whole house,” Androod recalled.
The woman, who was crying inconsolably, indicated that there was speculation that the fire may have started in the back room, where there was an electrical switch located.
She said she could not give an estimate of losses, however, she noted that the house, which had three bedrooms located upstairs and one bedroom along with a kitchen downstairs, was fully furnished.
Clive Mc Donald, Second in Command of the B Division Fire Service, explained that the Rose Hall Fire Service responded to the first call. However, he noted that when they arrived at the scene, the entire building was already engulfed in flames and the upper flat had collapsed.
He added that after a second call was made to the New Amsterdam Fire Service, they subsequently responded, “but when they got here the Rose Hall Fire Service had already gotten the fire under control”, he stated.
Mc Donald, who was at the scene yesterday, stressed that an investigation was immediately launched in order to ascertain the cause of the fire.
