Following the Cummings Lodge apartment complex fire, which claimed the life of her brother and his family, one of the victims is still awaiting word from police on their investigation of the cause.
Coretta Woolford is the younger sister of Marvin Lewis, 46, who along with his wife, Beverly Miller, 40, and her son Dawhaul Ifill, 15, were killed in the fire which devastated the Lot E Half Sixth Street, Cummings Lodge, East Coast Demerara, apartment complex.
Woolford, who also lived in one of the apartments with her children, told this newspaper that since the fire destroyed her families’ homes and claimed the life of her brother and his small family, the police have not said anything about their investigations.
The police had previously indicated that a thorough investigation into the fire was ongoing.
On the night of the fire, the landlord’s son was arrested as a suspect for starting the fire but he was released on bail after being held for 72 hours without being charged. Woolford explained that she, as well as many others were suspicious of the man because there have been many instances when he made threats.
She also noted that he was said to have been in the apartment where the fire is believed to have originated.
Woolford said that something must come from the investigations because three innocent lives were lost on the night of the fire.
Woolford previously told this newspaper that persons tried to access the apartment her brother’s family perished in but the grill work would not give them access inside. She said on Monday that she never would have thought that the grill was a hazard to their safety as they never encountered any trouble with it until the night of the fire.
Miller’s sister, Desiree Miller, who also lived at the apartment complex with her family, had previously said that she and her family are trying to come to terms with the passing of her sister and nephew.
Woolford and many of the other tenants also shared that since the fire they were not contacted by the landlord and while they know the landlord cannot provide another home for them, they noted that it is “odd” that the landlord was not making any efforts to contact them after such a traumatic event.
The fire reportedly started around 5.30 pm on June 27th and firefighters were able to extinguish the flames around 7pm. The burnt corpses of Lewis, Miller and Ifill were discovered some time after the flames were put out. Some eyewitnesses had said that shouts and cries for help could be heard while the family was trapped in the blaze.
