By Shauna Jemmott

TRAGEDY struck the home of Traffic Chief Dion Moore in the wee hours of Tuesday morning when a fire, said to be electrical in origin, began in the lower flat of his home at Lot 89 Belfield, East Coast Demerara.

The fire started at about 00:45 hours, and when the Guyana Chronicle arrived at the scene at about 9:00 hours, Moore, who was recently injured in an accident, was sitting under a shed at the front of the house. Officials from the Guyana Police Force were there to give their support, as were fellow teachers from Hope Secondary School, where his wife works. The Guyana Fire Service had already left the scene, and neighbours were removing damaged furniture and other debris from the burnt home.

Fire Chief Marlon Gentle told the Guyana Chronicle on Tuesday that investigations have revealed that the fire, which started in the kitchen area in the lower flat of the house, was electrical in origin. Gentle said two electrical appliances – a kettle and a radio – were left plugged in, and there was a malfunction in the electrical system at the house which resulted in the fire. The fire then spread, burning the plastic ceiling in the home.

A unit from Mahaica responded to a telephone call reporting the fire, and was able to extinguish the fire, ventilate the home and get the occupants out to safety.

Gentle said he is pleased that occupants of the home became alert to the presence of the fire early, as they were all asleep when the fire started and the results could have been worse.

While the Guyana Chronicle was at the scene, the Traffic Chief, still visibly frustrated, related that his wife Jonnel and their three children, aged 13, 10 and five, were asleep in the upper flat of their home when they were aroused by the heavy presence of smoke. They raised an alarm, and neighbours telephoned the Guyana Fire Service, which arrived on the scene some minutes later.

Moore said that although he is still unable to walk on his own, he and his wife managed to climb over the patio in the upper flat and onto a shed, where neighbours used a ladder to get them down from the blazing building.

“I had to climb across the verandah. I don’t know how I did it, but I did,” Moore told the Guyana Chronicle.

He praised his neighbours who, after rescuing the family from the building, broke the door to the lower flat and started a bucket brigade, putting the fire out.

In March this year, Moore was travelling along the Providence Public Road, EBD in a private motor vehicle when the driver lost control of same and collided with a utility pole. Moore sustained injuries and had to be hospitalised. Currently on medical leave, Moore said he suffered millions of dollars in losses and his mobile phones were missing, but one was found in the Guyana Fire Service vehicle which was at the scene.