A Non Pareil, East Coast Demerara woman and her family are now counting their losses, after a fire believed to have been set by a child, destroyed the interior of their house on Saturday afternoon.
Stabroek News understands that the fire started around 5pm at the Lot 198 Block 12, Non Pareil single-flat concrete structure.
The house is owned by Beverley Brown and her husband, Earl Brown. They lived with their three children.
Beverley yesterday explained to Stabroek News that at the time of the fire, only she and two of her grandchildren, who were visiting at the time, were at home.
The fire is suspected to have been started by a grandchild who was left alone in one of the bedrooms of the house, she said.
Beverley said she was on her phone with a family friend when she called out to the child.
“The little boy was in the room so I decide to call on him to come out the room, cause normally he would go in the room and trouble the children them stuff, so they does say don’t encourage he in there. So I keep calling fah ‘Joshua, Joshua’, and I didn’t see he come. So I shout out, ‘Joshua!’ and I see he come”, Beverly said.
She said upon exiting the bedroom, the child appeared sad. “So I ask he, ‘wah happen?’ And he didn’t correspond. So I look up on the blind, there was a bright light on the blind. So I decide to get up and pull the blind. When I pull the blind, there was a small fire under like the window, like jumping from on the mattress, trying fah reach the blind”, Beverley recalled.
She said she immediately rushed for a bucket of water in a bid to put out the fire. However, her efforts failed after the fire began to spread.
Beverley said she also attempted to save important documents such as passports, which were stored in the bedroom, but due to the intense heat, she was unable to and so quickly rushed her grandchildren to safety instead.
“So I left and I go fah some water and I come with the water, throw the water and the fire just blast to me and I drop the bucket and try to go in the room to get the passport and documents but I couldn’t get in the room, so I turn and pick up the lil girl (granddaughter) and carry she to the door and tek the lil boy (grandson) and push him out…and the fire blaze around and I go and holler fah help”, she recalled.
Residents of the area offered their assistance.
By that time, the Guyana Fire Service arrived and managed to out the fire, preventing it from causing further damage.
Beverley said it remains unclear what the child might have used to start the fire. She said he didn’t have access to matches.
Beverley and her family are currently staying at her daughter’s residence.
Anyone willing to offer them any form of assistance can contact Beverley on telephone numbers 630-6392 or 678-0890.
