Two persons are now homeless at SS Hadfield Street, Wortmanville, Georgetown, after a fire that was allegedly started by a relative, completely destroyed one house while the two other homes in the yard were partially damaged.
A woman is in custody assisting with investigation following the incident, a source close to the Fire Service said.
Thirty-seven-year-old Tanisha Berkshira, who lived in one of the houses in the yard with her brother and three children, related to Stabroek News yesterday that she believes that the fire was maliciously set by her cousin who occupied the house next door. She disclosed that there is a family dispute involving the property they all had occupied.
Berkshira alleged that neighbours saw her cousin light the fire and emphasised that this was not the first time her cousin had done so as a couple days ago she allegedly lit a fire at the side of the yard and the Guyana Fire Service had to be summoned to put it out. The woman also alleged that her cousin made several threats towards her about burning the home down one day.
When the fire started, Berkshira said she was at work which is located across the road from her yard. At the time she was speaking with her co-workers when she received a call on her phone. As she was about to take the call, a colleague came in and screamed, “Big fire, big fire across the road.” She rushed out with the others and saw that the fire had started in the yard. She recalled that she locked her father’s door this morning and when she left the home there weren’t any appliances plugged in.
She related that her father is in tears as he lost a significant amount of cash that he was saving, as well as all his belongings. The house at the back of the yard was completely destroyed by the fire. Berkshira wants the person who lit the fire to be responsible for the expenses incurred as a result of the fire. She said that she was able to save most of her items such as her mattress, refrigerator, fan, washing machine, and living room furniture. However, the back wall of her home was partially destroyed by the fire.
Her father, Nigel Berkshira, a 60-year-old construction worker, who lived in an apartment in the house that was completely destroyed, told this newspaper that every single thing was destroyed in the fire, including all his savings which amounted to $1.2 million in cash which was to be used to build a house on a plot of land that he recently paid for.
“Me ain’t got a bank account so I keep my money with me. My passport, national identification card, birth certificate, I purchase a piece of land, all the papers for the land burn up in the fire; everything gone. Bicycles, refrigerator, gas stove; everything gone in the fire.” The visibly distraught man added that presently, he is homeless and has nowhere to stay.
