By Aviso Paul
Five Ruimveldt families are now homeless after they managed to escape a raging fire yesterday afternoon leaving behind everything and running to safety with only the clothes they were wearing.
The Guyana Fire Service has since commenced their investigation to ascertain the cause of the fire. According to reports, the fire of unknown origin erupted yesterday at about 14:50hrs in a two-storey apartment complex at Lot 17 Riverview, Ruimveldt leaving eight adults and six children traumatized and homeless.
When Stabroek News visited the scene yesterday, fire-fighters were in the process of extinguishing the blaze in the concrete and wooden building. No statement had been issued by the Guyana Fire Service up to press time.
At the scene, this newspaper managed to speak with a few of the tenants and one of the brothers who has shares in the house.
Twenty-two-year-old Brandon Baker, a tenant whose unit was located at the back and who was reportedly the first person to become aware of the fire said that at the time he was on his bed looking at his television when he started to smell smoke.
“I been lie down watching TV, me girl they downstairs washing clothes and I start smell this heavy smoke like burn rubber so I get up fuh come outside and see if anything burning and when I look over the next side (the unit next to his) cause it gat a crease by the house, and when I look through the crease I see a big fire deh over deh and it had a lil girl hollering so I run around and when I run around fuh see wuh going on… like to check and see if is a fire fuh out or so, I see the chair set that went pack up together deh on fire…and when the chair set went on fire was a big blaze so nobody couldn’t out it, only the fire service coulda out duh… and by the time I see duh I hustle and save the lil girl that went on the step hollering and carry she downstairs and I run around back by me to see wuh I could save but it was nothing, I couldn’t save nothing, everything bun up…is till when I start holler is then when everybody become alert.”
“If was a lil fire or so I coulda out it, throw lil water on it and out it but when I go up there the whole chair set was on fire and when I run up back by me I couldn’t even get to go inside cause the whole place did white white and full with smoke and the fire did already deh over by me so I really couldn’t save anything.”
Baker who is a construction worker has estimated his losses to be over $800,000 while also noting that the equipment that he uses for work such as his cutting saw and other important tools have all been destroyed in the fire.
The distressed man who has no idea as to what his next option might be stated, “right now like I lost I don’t know what to do now because all my money that I had in the house all just bun up, I don’t have any money to do anything right now, all I gat is the pants that I wearing nothing else.”
Persons who are willing to help Barker and his six-month-old pregnant partner can contact them on telephone numbers, 668-2432 or 661-7351.
Exploring
Meanwhile, another tenant, Adonie Thompson, 22, said that she was still coming to grips with what had happened and was in the process of exploring her limited options.
“To be honest at this point we can’t really say… we just heard somebody shouting ‘Fire!’ and we just tried our best to leave the home as fast as possible. Everybody probably ran out the yard with the clothes that they had on because we couldn’t save anything.”
“It’s a four-way apartment, there are four at the top and two on the lower flat and each apartment has a family living inside,” added the woman.
Donovan Richardson, 26, told this newspaper that he only became aware of the fire when he saw Baker, who is his brother-in-law, running from one apartment to the next. “I was counting my stocks and I see my brother-in-law run down from the back, run over to the other side by the other gate, well I think it was a fight but then I see he run upstairs back and I decide fuh run behind and there is it I see the fire and that was it that’s when everybody start running out of the yard.”
“We ain’t get fuh collect nothing because how the fire happen so fast over the other side like everybody just left crazy…the fire was big…we couldn’t out it
Richardson who is a vendor said that he had cases of beverages and confectioneries stored in his apartment to be sold along with cash and as such has estimated his losses to be over $100,000.
One of the owners of the building, 64-year-old Gavin Wesley Joseph who also occupied an apartment on the lower flat said that he was about to wash when he heard someone shouting ‘Fire! Fire!’
“I been downstairs in the yard going to wash now and then I hear somebody hollering ‘Fire! Fire!’ and I then I see the big smoke and I seh ‘Is wuh really going on upstairs deh’ and I see the house catching a fire…it had a little girl but they manage to get she out…I never get to save nothing nothing nothing…”
Joseph who burst into tears while speaking with the media yesterday revealed that the house was not insured and as such he is uncertain as to what his next move might be in order to make up for all his losses.
Persons who wish to contact another tenant, Tasha, can reach out to her on telephone numbers 602-3428 or 636-5350.
Houses on both sides suffered some scorching and water damage.
