A Linden family is now displaced after a fire, suspected to be electrical in origin, gutted their home on Tuesday morning.
Reports are that the fire started sometime between 11.30hrs and 12.30hrs at Lot 4280 Amelia’s Ward, Linden.
The house was occupied by Triviata Fleming, her 70-year-old father, Vivian Fleming, her two children and three minor nephews. Vivian is bedridden. He was rescued from the burning house by Triviata’s son, Dequawn Haynes.
Nothing was saved.
Stabroek News understands that the Guyana Fire Service has launched an investigation into the fire. Preliminary investigation suggests that it was electrical in origin, a source said.
During a telephone interview with Stabroek News yesterday, Triviata said she was sitting at a shop when a one of her neighbours informed her that her house was on fire.
“He said ‘yuh house bun down’. The first question I ask he is if mommy and daddy alright and where is Dequawn? He said ‘yea, everybody alright’. I start hollering,” Triviata recalled.
By time she got to the house, the fire was already put out. “Everything was flat. The fire service done out the fire. There wasn’t any fire just the remains,” she said.
Triviata told Stabroek News that Dequawn is a student of the Linden Technical Institute. At the time of the fire, he was preparing to attend class in the afternoon.
She explained that Dequawn told her that he was having lunch when his grandmother said she noticed smoke.
“She said ‘Dequawn how this house look suh smokey and I smelling something burning?’ He (Dequawn) get up and went into my bedroom. He say when he look at the ceiling it was black….He managed to pull down the main (switch) and she said ‘Granny fire in the ceiling. We got to get out of this house’. She seh go and get yuh mother documents,” Triviata recounted to Stabroek News.
Dequawn did not manage to save any of the important documents. “He said by then, the ceiling cave in. The fire done raging up there (ceiling),” Triviata said.
Triviata also believes that the fire was electrical in origin. “My suspicion is that it had to be electrical in origin because there wasn’t any fire based on what I question them in the house. So for sure based on what they saying there wasn’t anything going on in the kitchen,” she noted.
The family is currently seeking shelter at Triviata sister’s home at Obama Drive, Linden.
Triviata said she is hoping she would be able to rebuild. However, she said she cannot afford to do so presently since she does not have the finances. “I have to rebuild…..I can’t now but I know just how I build that I can do it again. It’s going to take time, it’s going to be harder but I have to do it,” she told this newspaper.
Anyone who is willing to assist Triviata can contact her on telephone number 649-0843.
