A FIFTH Field, South-East Cummings Lodge family is contemplating their next move after their home went up in flames around midday on Thursday.

Counting their losses are Rupnarain Sookram, 61, his two daughters Natasha and Christina, and his four tenants, who resided at the back of the two-storey property.

“I don’t know where I would rest tonight. I gah ask somebody to let me stay tonight, some neighbour or something,” Sookram lamented, as he looked at his destroyed property. Rupnarain has been residing at the home some 20 years now.

Around midday, he said he got a call from one of his daughters who related the tragic news.
No one was at home at the time of the fire. Rupnarain could not surmise what could have possibly been the cause of the fire, but from all indications, it started in the building at the back of the house.

The fire was reportedly first noticed around noon, and it was already a raging flame.
One neighbour, who gave her name as “Finey,” was moved to tears on seeing the damaged caused by the fire.

“Meh sorry fuh them bad. Them people this is nice people. When meh see this meh start cry,” “Finey” said.

She lives three houses away from the burnt building. She said she was the first person to notice the fire and started alerting neighbours, begging them to save what they could from the house.

“Meh she ow man all yuh get bucket, get bucket! This thing left me in shock,” an obviously shaken “Finey” related.

Thanks to Finey’s efforts, some of the furniture of the bottom flat, including a bed, TV stand, and dining chairs were saved.

A prompt response from the Guyana Fire Service (GFS) also saved the bottom flat of the building from being totally destroyed.

Fire Chief Marlon Gentle related that about 12:13 hrs, the Guyana Fire Service received the first call about the fire, and two units from Alberttown and Campbellville were deployed.

The firefighters reported their arrival time as 12:21hrs after driving at reduced speed due to adverse road conditions. According to Gentle, the fire started in the wooden flat.

“So far what we know are that there were two structures in the yard, one a small wooden building at the back, that’s where the fire started. That building had four occupants who were renting it,” Gentle said.

He added: “When they got there they reported heavy fire conditions there, one building was already down and the other one heavily engulfed. They went into action, they managed to contain the fire to where it was and it didn’t spread to any other buildings. They managed to do that with the water they had in the tanks because the area had no other water supply.”

After the fire was contained, the trucks left to replenish their water supply and later returned to ensure that the entire building was extinguished.

Around 14:00 hrs, the family began trying to clean out what remained of the bottom flat, trying their best to salvage what they can as they look to start over.