A fire of unknown origin last night flattened a two-storey house at Better Hope, East Coast Demerara, leaving two persons homeless.
The fire which started around 7pm at the Fourth Street, South Better Hope home, completely burned the structure, causing damage to neighbouring homes. The owner of the house, Subhadra Mohabir who was home at the time of the fire, told Stabroek News that she was unsure as to what caused the fire but was able to escape unharmed.
Mohabir told Stabroek News that she and her son, who are the only two occupants of the home were interacting with a neighbour just prior.
“While me walk ah go upstairs me start smell like smoke, like something burning, me seh man this old man over deh does burn heap so he mussy burning something”, she said.
She noted that while she made her way into the house, she heard her neighbours and her son shout that a fire was taking over a mattress in one of the rooms in the lower flat of the home. With that she mentioned that it started a blaze within five minutes and by the time the fire service arrived the entire house was engulfed.
She mentioned that while her son occupies the lower flat and she lives in the upper flat of the home, only a radio and a light bulb were on at the time.
“Me neighbour them run up and them start throw water and them bring me down from upstairs”, she recalled. Even with the neighbours stepping in and trying to out the fire, they were not able to control it.
According to neighbours, the fire service took approximately 30 minutes to arrive at the scene. Neighbouring houses suffered some damage from the blaze.
