Two Venezuelans perished yesterday morning after a fire, suspected to have been caused by an unattended stove, gutted an Alberttown, Georgetown apartment building.
The dead women have been identified as Marialina Texidor, 25, and Maria Alejandra Patina Benjamett, 41. The women were trapped in the heavily grilled building.
The fire started around 8.46 am at Lot 136 Fifth Street, Alberttown.
The property housed several buildings which are known as the Vizion Hotel and Apartments. The burnt property is owned by Rishiram Jainarine, a resident of No.39 Village, Corentyne, Berbice.
A total of 14 persons including a number of children, the majority of whom are foreign nationals occupied the building.
During a telephone interview with Stabroek News yesterday, Fire Chief Kalamadeen Edoo confirmed that preliminary investigations revealed that the fire was caused as a result of negligence due to cooking left unattended.
Edoo said Texidor and Benjamett were in their rooms while the stove was left on in the kitchen unattended. From all indications, he said the fire ignited and quickly spread through the two-storey building. The women had returned home that morning after an outing.
Speaking to reporters at the scene, Edoo said that he is saddened at the tragedy. He said that the Guyana Fire Service (GFS) received a call about a house on fire, immediately after which three fire tenders were dispatched to the scene: two from the Central Fire Station and one from the nearby Alberttown station.
Upon arrival, he said it was observed that the first floor of the building was engulfed.
There was also only one entry and one exit, Edoo added.
Stabroek News was reliably informed that the apartment building consisted of four apartments, two in the upper flat and two in the lower flat.
The dead women lived together in Apartment 1. Two persons lived in apartment 2. The other apartments housed seven and three persons respectively.
`Daddy come fast’
Texidor’s father, Alex Texidor related to this newspaper that he was at the gym when he received a call from his daughter pleading for his help.
At the time, the distraught man said he assumed his daughter was being attacked by bandits since she did not mention it was a fire.
“She called me. She was scared and she was screaming. She said ‘daddy, daddy come fast, I will die,’” he said.
Alex said he immediately called some individuals who were closer to his daughter and asked them to check on her. A few minutes after, he said when he tried calling back his daughter her phone was off.
“When I reach over there I saw my older daughter burnt up. She was already dead,” Alex wept while adding, “everything happen so fast, the fire was so high”.
Meanwhile, Rickford Benjamin, one of the tenants told reporters that he was awakened by the smell of smoke.
“…..I wake up and I start smelling the lil smoke so me start check around like to see if any wire start a fire or something,” he said.
As he exited his apartment, Benjamin said he learnt that the building was on fire.
“When me come outside and realize wah going on, it’s like trying fah grabble wah I could grabble and run out. And in the midst of grabbling now all me money gone and misplace cause in the confusion everybody running out,” he recalled.
According to Benjamin, he heard screams coming form the next apartment but he was unable to do anything.
“I hear hollering come from the next apartment and then it has the grill inside and the doors were locked, they do have a lot of locks on the doors….The smoke affect we so much yuh couldn’t even see anything anymore. Yuh just try fah grabble wah yuh could grabble and come out the place,” he said.
“Is a tragedy happen deh man. It lef yuh sickening to yuh inside…Terrible. Never experience something like that happen before,” Benjamin added.
Poor service
At the scene where a crowd had gathered, persons vented their anger at the level of service by members of the GFS.
They said the firefighters had difficulty in finding the location and they were not equipped with the necessary tools. Had it not been for the delays, persons said they believed that the women’s lives could have been saved.
“The fire truck only come with couple ah them (firefighters), about four ah them on it. No water, nothing. No sledge hammer, nothing fah cut the grill them. We trying as civilian to get in the place but the smoke was affecting we….we try we best fah see what we can do….the fire service didn’t had no equipment and these thing to cut the grill to assist the people and them seeing the people. The people was hollering,” a taxi driver, who wished not to be named explained.
According to Edoo, firefighters experienced difficulty in tackling the fire since the building was heavily grilled.
“Immediately firefighting mode was put into operation where it was difficult for firefighters to get access to the building because the entire building was grilled. We had to break the door, there were two doors,” he said.
Texidor’s father also expressed dissatisfaction at the GFS response.
“The firefighters, they went but they didn’t bring any tools to open the door….the fire station is one minute away and they reach late and with no tools….I can’t believe this is happening in Guyana,” Alex said.
Many said it’s a “norm” for the GFS to show up at scenes without water. “That is a norm with them. They come without water,” a resident said.
“One door that place get. One grill yuh know, them hustling with and when them get the grill open them can’t even go in. Them frighten fah go in. The louvre window them ain’t break none……Is people had fah go inside and break them window,” another resident said.
To stop regular occurrences of this nature, one resident said the GFS needs to improve their level of service.
“They come and waste time. While people trying fah help people, they looking fah run hose and all them thing…….. Before that place start burning more bad he coulda go in deh…..he hollering people done dead before he go in the place. Them fire people gah do more service,” the man declared.
“No tools nothing them ain’t come with. Hollering they gah go back fah tools and all ah that,” he said.
Just on Wednesday, Minister of Home Affairs Robeson Benn said that the GFS has to be “capable, aware, trained and engaged” in addressing its existing challenges.
Speaking at a Fire Advisory Board outreach, Benn said that efforts are underway to boost the capacity and capability of the organisation including enhanced public awareness and prevention measures.
“The fire service has a very, very important role to play. The challenges going forward are extremely significant…The fire service has to be capable, aware, trained and engaged….The normal issues in terms of fighting fires, we got to be better at it. We got to be more skilled, we got to be more confident and we got to be more courageous,” Benn stated.
In a press release, the GFS said that hydrants in the vicinity were “serviceable but an adjacent open source of water was used to extinguish the fire”.
