Former General Manager of the Guyana National Printers Limited and artist, Angold Thompson died today after a fire of unknown origin gutted his Campbellville residence.
Thompson, 76, of Lot 73 John Street, Campbellville was trapped after returning to the burning building to gather some of his belongings.
The fire which started sometime around 2am, destroyed a two-storey wooden and concrete structure, where approximately eight persons lived.
Kioja Thompson, a son of the deceased, during an interview with Stabroek News, said he was awakened by the shouts of `fire!’ from his niece who lived in the front section of the house.
The man explained that he immediately got up and began making checks to see where the fire was. While checking, he observed smoke emanating from a middle room and quickly went to the pipe with a bucket as he attempted to extinguish the fire.
However, as he returned to throw the water his efforts were unsuccessful as the fire had escalated rapidly. Thereafter, Kioja stated that he heard his niece who was trapped in a back room calling for help and instantly broke a window to rescue her.
At that time, he said his mother who was assisted by Angold was coming out of the house using the front stairway, but he later learnt that his father went back into the burning house to gather some items. Kioja said he attempted to go up the front stairway in search of his father but the fire was too much.
He then attempted to access the burning building from the back entrance but with the thick smoke he was unable to see the door. He called out for his father but received no answer.
The man said he then ran into his apartment and quickly grabbed his cell phone before jumping over the back fence to escape the fire.
Kioja said “words can’t explain” how they feel about his father’s death.
While Kioja was unable to estimate their losses, he noted that he recently took a loan amounting to $600,000 to build an apartment at the residence. Persons willing to offer assistance to the grieving family can make contact with them on 676-9496.
