A fire suspected to be electrical in origin completely destroyed a house in Hampshire Village, Corentyne yesterday morning leaving a family of seven homeless.
According to the family, they had noticed an issue with their electrical meter and despite making contact with GPL several times no technician ever visited their home.
Randolph Alert, cane harvester and vendor of Lot 77 Hampshire Village, Corentyne, explained that the fire started just around 9.30 am yesterday and destroyed his two-bedroom wooden and concrete two-storey house.
According to him, both he and his wife were out at the Rose Hall Market selling vegetables while their five children were at home when the fire started.
He said the children told them that they were in the upstairs of the house when they started to smell smoke coming from the lower flat. As such they quickly exited the building. Shortly after the entire building was engulfed in flames.
Stabroek News was told that residents called the Rose Hall Town Fire Station.
Alert explained, “Before I could reach home the place done burn down… Everything damage, nothing we na get to save.”
According to Alert there were previous issues with the electricity meter attached to his premises. He stressed, that he had reported the matter to the Guyana Power and Light Inc, however, it was not fixed. “We does get a problem with this meter, sometimes you does hear a lil sparking in the meter. We call GPL how much times, call, call, call, call and them never come to check it.”
The father remains thankful that his children were not caught in the fire, “thanks to Jesus that nothing ain’t happen to them children…. Everybody happen to come out and assist.”
The family is estimating their losses to be over $7m as the house was fully furnished. “We had fridge, tv, freezer, microwave, everything and everything damage.”
The family is seeking the public’s assistance and can be contacted on telephone number 697 5315.
Alert said that he has resided at the location for over twenty years and worked hard over the years with his wife to construct and furnish the building so that his family could live comfortably. “I don’t know what I will do now, how these times so rough, it hard, it hard, fa go start back from scratch it real tough.”
