A businessman was left counting his losses yesterday morning after a fire devastated the upper flat of his Durabana Square, Lamaha Gardens home.
The fire started around 11 am at the two-storey Lot 178 Durabana Square property and a quick response by the Guyana Fire Service prevented further destruction.
The house is owned by Noel Shewjattan, the owner of Auto Fashion. He was not at home at the time of the fire. His housekeeper escaped unhurt.
The fire is suspected to have started in a bedroom of the house. Its cause was not immediately known.
Divisional Officer of Operations for the Guyana Fire Service Gregory Wickham told reporters that an investigation had been launched to determine the cause of the fire. At the time he spoke, he said members of the investigative team were going through the rubble.
Wickham noted that three fire tenders were dispatched to the scene. Upon arrival, he said, the upper flat of the house was “fully” engulfed.
“When we arrived, we noticed that the top floor of the structure was fully engulfed [by] flames and so we went into operation. Further, we received information that the maid was in the building at the time of the fire. She was on the lower floor and she heard a booming sound coming from the top floor. When she got upstairs to investigate, she saw fire coming from one of the rooms,” he related.
Wickham noted that the firefighters did not experience any problems fighting the fire as they had access to a nearby hydrant.
“Kudos to GWI (Guyana Water Incorporated) for allowing us to access the water hydrant and getting the water out of it so we weren’t hindered at all by the firefighting process because of lack of water. We had enough water to keep the fire under control,” he said.
A large number of persons gathered in disbelief as the news of the fire spread.
Shewjattan’s sister, Sharda (only name given), said that there was extensive damage to the upper flat of the house.
