By Shabna Rahman
With three houses up in flames side-by-side on July 1st, the occupants and others fought desperately to save a fourth dwelling that was under threat at Lot 14 ‘B’ Bush Lot, West Coast Berbice (WCB), averting what could have been an even bigger catastrophe.
The one-flat, wooden three-bedroom antique property that houses a welding workshop and a storeroom below, belongs to 87-year-old Wallim Ullah, a welder and fabricator. In front of the house is a separate flat concrete structure, which is rented for a phone store.
At the time of the fire around 5:30 pm, Ullah was at home with his son-in-law, Robby Saywack when they smelt the smoke.
Upon checking, they saw fumes emanating from the front room in Carl “Carly” Persaud’s house, two doors away at Lot 16 ‘B’ Bush Lot.