A taxi driver and his family lost their Onderneeming, West Bank Demerara home on Monday, after it was completely gutted by a fire of unknown origin.
The Guyana Police Force said Guy Scott, 41, left his home around 5.20 pm to go to a shop. Upon his return an hour later, he saw flames coming from the living room area of the home.
The report said the fire quickly spread and engulfed the entire building.
The Fire Service was summoned and firefighters managed to extinguish the fire.
Scott’s home was located in an isolated part of the community.
When Stabroek News visited the scene of the fire yesterday, one of the occupants of the sole neighbouring property said he was at home when the fire started.
The youth explained that he and his sister called the fire service after they spotted the flames. The teen said that it took them three calls before they got through and firefighters arrived on the scene within half an hour later.
No one was at Scott’s home at the time of the fire. A young woman and a child reportedly shared the residence with Scott but they had left earlier in the day.
Scott, the youth said, arrived at home while his house was ablaze. He recalled him breaking one of his own windows, which he believes was done in order for him to see inside of the house. However, the fire was by then too much for him to do anything more.
A parked minibus under the youth’s house sustained heat damage due to the fire. The young man noted that the bus is not in use and the keys could not be found. As a result, firefighters burst two windows to move the bus but they were unsuccessful. However, while firefighters tried to put out the blaze, the youth and his family tried to keep the bus wet by dousing it with buckets of water but there was not much that could be done.
At the scene, only the charred remains of Scott’s house could be seen. The man’s bathroom, which was situated next to the house, was partially scorched as a result of the fire.
