The fire department has determined after its investigation that the fire which destroyed a two-storey building at 24 Norton Street, Georgetown on Wednesday and left one person homeless, was caused by illegal electrical wires and wiring.
The now homeless man has been identified as Gary Grant. The owner of the property who wished for her name not to be mentioned, told Stabroek News yesterday that it belongs to her family. She disclosed that one of Grant’s relatives who was a tenant at the back building fifteen years ago, died and Grant’s other relatives asked that he be allowed to stay at the back house and since then he has been living there.
Meanwhile, the Guyana Fire Service (GFS) release on Thursday stated that these illegal connections likely caused arcing and sparking, resulting in the fire, which spread to nearby combustibles and engulfed the entire building.
A neighbouring two-storey building located at Lot 25 Norton Street, owned by Carl Gill suffered some damage. The release informed that due to radiated heat from the building on fire, one black tank, a quantity of PVC pipe, ceiling, and guttering were destroyed, and one washing machine was severely damaged.
On Wednesday, at about 15.32 hours, when the Fire Department was alerted about the fire on Norton Street, water tenders from the Central and West Ruimveldt fire stations, supported by a bowser from the Guyana Prison Service, were immediately dispatched to the location.
