(Trinidad Express) Fire officers believe a sky lantern or fireworks may have caused a New Year’s morning fire in East Port of Spain which destroyed four homes, damaged two cars and caused a power outage after an electricity pole was incinerated.
The fire, which raged for two hours, left 25 people homeless.
The exact cause of the fire was still being determined yesterday, but it is believed to have been sparked by a sky lantern, also known as a Chinese lantern, police said.
A sky lantern is a small hot-air balloon made of paper, with an opening at the bottom where a small fire is suspended.
It has become popular in recent years as a firework.
While 25 people were affected, by the blaze, only one woman sustained minor injuries while attempting to escape her burning home.
She was treated at the Port of Spain General Hospital and discharged.
The Sunday Express was told that minutes after midnight, police and fire officers received information that houses at Quarry Street were on fire.
Appliances from the Wrightson Road headquarters, the Belmont Fire Station and the Four Roads Fire Station responded, under the supervision of divisional FSO Stewart.
Officers said water was an issue initially, but was eventually supplied by WASA, and within two hours the fire was contained and extinguished.
Children without a home
When the Sunday Express visited the scene yesterday, residents were distraught as they went through the still-smoking structures, looking for personal items they could salvage.
Nicole Bennet, whose home was destroyed, said she lost everything in the fire.
“There are eight persons in my house, including myself and my five children. So, this is hitting us very hard,” Bennet said.
She recalled that she had little time to react and secure her personal belongings when the fire broke out.
She suffered minor burns trying to get her items before she had to exit the house because of the intense heat.
“I remember I was inside, and when the clock struck midnight, I heard everyone shouting ‘Happy New Year’ so I walked outside with a bag of fireworks for the family to light up. We lit one firework. One. As soon as it went in the air and exploded, I heard someone screaming. I turned around and saw Ms Patsy (a neighbour) running and screaming how she’s seeing smoke. So I turned around and the entire back of my house was engulfed in flames. I ran to the back to see how bad it was, and all the bedrooms were on fire. The children’s rooms gone. My room was engulfed. I tried to run inside and see what I could save, but the heat was too much and I had to get out. I even got some burns because of it. But everything is gone. All I had is gone,” Bennet said.
She said her family will be staying with other relatives who live in the area.
Pasty, who gave only her first name, told reporters she saw what appeared to be a sky lantern land on a roof seconds before the fire broke out.
“I was outside recording the fireworks, when I saw a red object just floating in the sky. The same time my nephew saw it and said it was a lantern and if it land bad, he joked that it could burn someone house down. So, I kept my eye on it. I saw it land on a house, but nothing happened. I looked away for five seconds because another firework got my attention and when I turned back, all I saw was smoke. So I start to shout out ‘fire!’ but like no one was hearing me because the fireworks were still going off. I run down the steps and try to alert everyone and try to help out, but it spread too fast. Within minutes, houses were on fire and there wasn’t anything we could have done,” Patsy said.
Bennet said after yesterday’s incident, she believes that lanterns need to be regulated, if not banned.
“Lanterns cannot be played with like this. Because when it goes up, you don’t know where it will land or how far it will go. It’s all up to the breeze taking it, and wherever it end up is in danger. For me, eight people are now homeless because of someone’s reckless move. Eight. And it’s over 20 of us affected,” Bennet said.
Pensioner Renwick Douglas, 82, told the Sunday Express he did not know where he would stay last night.
“I lost everything. Everything is gone. I’m trying to figure out where I will be. I’m hoping my nephew would be able to assist, even if it’s a couch or something, but as of this moment, I have nowhere to live,” Douglas said.
He recalled that he was at his home alone when he heard the commotion outside just after midnight.
“I took a peek to see what was going on and I saw the yard looking very bright. I thought that was odd, so I went outside. It was only then I saw that the house next door was on fire. I ran inside, grabbed some clothes and exited. If I had stayed there, I may have been trapped because within two minutes my house was on fire as well. It spread very, very fast,” Douglas said.
‘Irresponsible few’
Member of Parliament for Port of Spain North/St Ann’s West Stuart Young said yesterday he was upset and saddened over the incident, noting how it “highlights how the irresponsible actions of a few can, in a split second, negatively affect the lives of many innocents”.
Young issued a statement yesterday after visiting the community and speaking with affected residents.
“Having visited the site and spoken to some of the fire victims this morning, as well as other members of the community, I was upset and saddened to learn that it seems like the source of this fire that has caused over 20 people to now be homeless was started by a type of firework landing on one of the houses. I would like to thank councillors Clint Baptiste and June Durham, chairman Chinua Alleyne, Ms Sharon Cedeno, the TT Fire Service, T&TEC and all members of the community for assisting those affected by this disaster. Fortunately, no lives were lost. This incident highlights how the irresponsible actions of a few, can in a split second, negatively affect the lives of many innocents,” Young said.
He called on citizens to be “our brothers’ and sisters’ keepers” and to be more thoughtful in their actions and inactions this year.
The Trinidad and Tobago Electricity Commission (T&TEC) urged the public to exercise caution in the use of fireworks on Old Year’s night.
“Fireworks and fire lanterns (aka, sky lanterns) may be lovely to look at, but they pose a danger to electricity infrastructure, property and animals. If not handled properly, they can also cause burns and other physical injuries,” T&TEC said in a statement.
