A devastating fire, which the Guyana Fire Service [GFS] said originated from a slack connection, yesterday morning completely destroyed a one-flat wooden house at Lot 111 Bladen Hall, Railway Embankment, East Coast of Demerara.
As a result nine persons, including three minors, were left homeless. The home was owned by 48-year-old Aubrie Matthew.
Stabroek News spoke to Joshua Fletchman, a prison officer and son of Matthew, who said that at around 7:40 am yesterday he received a call from his relatives that their home was on fire. Fletchman said though neither he nor his parents were at home at the time. His two sisters along with three minors were there. What he learnt was that it was a 10-year-old who notified everyone in the home that smoke was coming from the back bedroom which then turned into a fire. Everyone in the home at the time, Fletchman said, rushed out to escape the blaze. He told Stabroek News that none of the adults could say what actually caused the fire.
He related that while no one was injured in the fire, he learnt that his younger sister was rushed to the hospital after she fell unconscious caused possibly by smoke inhalation. He subsequently learnt that she later regained consciousness. When asked to quantify the family’s losses from the fire, Fletchman was unable to say but said that the home was fully furnished and all of his family’s belongings were destroyed including two microwaves, a refrigerator, a washing machine, a chair set, four beds and other items. He added that his parents lost close to 2 million dollars in savings which was kept in the home at the time. That money, Fletchman said, was to be used to complete the roofing of a two-storey concrete home being constructed by his parents, which was situated next to the destroyed home. That structure fortunately escaped the blaze. The family is currently sheltering there for the time.
Meanwhile, the Guyana Fire Service said that at approximately 07:54 yesterday morning it responded to a distress call from the home and the fire brigade led by Leading Firemen, Legall and Petrie, arrived at the scene at 07:58 with seven additional firefighters to combat the blaze. Upon arrival at the scene, the GFS observed the home was fully engulfed in flames. Despite the intensity of the flames, the firefighters successfully contained and extinguished the fire using one jet from water carrier #16 at 07:59. The fire, the GFS said, originated from a faulty slack connection to a duplex point which quickly spread throughout the structure, resulting in complete destruction of the building and its contents. No injuries were reported among the occupants or responders, the GFS said.
