By Shuntel Glasgow
A fire which was allegedly set by a mentally ill man, destroyed three houses at Container City, Georgetown yesterday morning, leaving at least 10 persons homeless. Two persons were injured and taken to the hospital.
Just before 11 am a fire was allegedly set by a man of unsound mind. The man was seen on several occasions lighting fires under his house. At the time of the fire, the occupants of the homes were at work. The raging fire destroyed his house and soon after caught on to another house. Residents attempted to put out the fires with buckets but their efforts were in vain. The heavy breeze blowing at the time enabled the fire to spread to a third house.
By the time the GFS arrived on the scene, all three houses were ablaze. To prevent the fire from spreading to yet another house, firefighters doused the neighbouring fourth house with water. The heat radiating from the third house destroyed the windows of the fourth house, however, firefighters were able to prevent it from being consumed.
Towonna Morgan, an occupant of the fourth house told Stabroek News that she was at work at the time of the fire. She recounted that after receiving a call about the fire, she rushed home and removed all her important documents. She recalled that the radiated heat broke the windows around the house but the swift actions of the GFS prevented the fire from spreading to her home.
“My aunt call me when the second house was on fire and when I got here the third house was on fire. The man that light the fire would usually light fire under his house and on the street and so. But he is mentally ill. The boys would usually put out the fires but today nobody was at home, everybody was at work.”
The third house that was involved in the fire was a two-storey wooden and concrete building at Lot 7 ‘Y’ Ruimveldt, John Fernandes Scheme, which was divided into four apartments and housed five people. Rawle Williams, an occupant of the upper flat of the house recounted that he was at work aback the John Fernandes container terminal. Williams explained that because his location was close to his home the smoke emanating from the burning houses was visible. Upon seeing this he rushed home since the area where the thick smoke was billowing from appeared to be his abode.
Upon arrival, the house was partially engulfed in flames, and Williams and his colleague attempted to put out the fire but the colleague got injured during the process. Shortly after the Guyana Fire Service arrived and the fire was contained.
“I raise my head and saw a big amount of smoke. My coworker come and help me and end up getting damage on his hand. At first when I told my coworker about the smoke, he telling me that it was a wild fire but I say no because the distance where it coming from it got to be some house burning. This distance where the smoke coming from was within my house range. I drop my tools and run.”
Michael Smith, a police inspector who was the occupant of the lower flat of the house, said he was on the Junior Leadership Course yesterday morning when he received a call at about 10:45 hours about the fire. Smith explained that upon arrival home, the house was already gutted by fire. He added that millions went up in flames as he only refurnished his home last December.
“Millions in losses because only last December I furnish back my place, new microwave, fridge, tv, chair set, everything. It’s a big loss for me and currently this is all I left with, just the clothes that I wear to go to work with this morning.”
