THE Guyana Relief Council and UNAMI Agro Products of Lusignan on Friday afternoon joined hands in bringing quick relief to the victims of Thursday night’s fire at Lots 128 and 129 Lusignan North, Market Road, which left 13 persons homeless taking with it, all their material possessions.

In the conflagration which started just before 19:00 hrs, two buildings were destroyed: a two flat house and a neighbouring one –flat building.
The two- flat house was owned by Deomattie Ramrattan, also called Goalin, while the one flat house was owned by Shanta Motilall.
Now homeless are: Goalin and her two grandchildren (in their 20s) who shared the home with her; her tenant, Diaram Kanhaye, 30, who lived on the bottom flat with his wife and three young children aged 8, 2 and 11 months; Shanta Motilall and her 77-year-old mother, Doreen Appanah and 26-year-old son, who works with Neil and Massy.
Pathetically, also homeless now, is Goalin’s daughter, Nadira Bridgelall, who has been living in Florida for the last 14 years and had come home only last Saturday to spend time with her mother and her (Nadira’s) two children living in the home. The anguish was evident yesterday, as Goalin recalled that it was her daughter who had built the house for her. Now having returned home after 14 years, it was only to witness it burned to smouldering embers.

“She come Saturday morning fuh holiday with me and she two children. She build the house for me,” the deeply distraught Goalin said, fighting to hold back tears.
Nadira who was on spot when the fire started, impulsively ran inside and snatched up her handbag containing her travel documents. That was the only thing saved in the conflagration. She is due to return to Florida on Monday
It was Diwali Night, the night of the Festival of Lights and the family had been burning diyas out in the yard. Goalin recalled that as the diyas were burning outside, Nadira and her son went out on the bridge where the lad was having fun, spinning the lighted steel wool. When the first one had finished, they returned to the house to get more, only to be confronted by smoke emanating from the building, nobody else had as yet seen it. She said the mother and son ran upstairs and noticed that the fire had started in the back of the building upstairs.
An alarm was sounded and occupants of the three households began running “helter skelter,” trying to get family members out of harm’s way, as well as to douse the burning bedroom, but their efforts to extinguish the fire proved futile. Goalin refuted claims by some that the fire was caused by burning diyas in the house. She said the only light in the

house was one on her altar and that had burned out long before the alarm was raised. The family will stay at a friend in Success temporarily.
Diaram Kanhaye, 30, who lived with his wife and three young children aged 8, 2 and 11 months lived on the bottom flat of the two-storey building owned by Auntie Goalin, had been renting from her for the last two years. He recalled that just before 19:00 hours he was watching television in the home while his wife and children were out in the yard watching Goalin’s grandchildren burning diyas on the bridge. He suddenly heard his wife exclaiming “Fire! Fire”, joined by the land lady’s grandson who began running frantically shouting, “Bring water! Bring water”!
“We don’t know how the fire started,” Diaram said,” but it appeared to have started upstairs, somewhere in the back room.” He said when they ran upstairs to throw water, they couldn’t run into the room as they were driven backward by thick smoke which began choking and stifling them. He said he ran back downstairs and began throwing water from the back, not knowing that the room was well engulfed and posed a serious challenge to fight. His wife managed to snatch her children up and ran to safety.
Because the houses were located on the edge of the Atlantic sea coast, fanned by fierce winds, the flames licked angrily away at the houses, consuming everything in its path within record time.
Shanta Motilall, who owned the one-flat house Lot 128, lived with her 77 year-old mother, Doreen Appanah and 26-year-old son. Shanta recalls: “I was packing up my things to go and sell in the market this morning (Friday) and ah hear meh neighbur grandson shouting “Fire! Fire”! When I run round to the end, ah see smoke in the middle of neighbour Goalin house. She hastily ran back and called out to her son to throw sand.
“In the meantime, I run back and looked for my mother and find she pon de bed and tell she fire over there.” Shanta explained that her mother is a “heart case” who has already suffered four heart attacks, in addition to suffering alternating low and high blood pressure. Hence it was a real panicky situation for them. She hurriedly got her mother out of the house and took her to hospital where she was treated and discharged around 13:00 hours. But sadly, she no longer had a home to return to. They are temporarily being accommodated at a relative.
Shanta lamented that all her mother’s medication she’s been using for the heart condition, as well as her spectacles got destroyed in the fire and now she is at her wits end to acquire medication for the elderly woman.
The Fire Department responded to the call, but constrained by the lack of water, the fire-fighters were unable to put the fire out. Nothing was saved.

Disaster relief
Promptly responding to the disaster was a team from the National Relief Council: Welfare Officer, Ms. Rohini Bonar, along with staff Andre Wilson and Samantha Duncan. On Friday afternoon they visited the scene of the ravaged homes and made a presentation of mattresses, kitchen utensils; cooking gas and kerosene stoves, among other things. Bonar also said the Relief Council had offered the victims temporary shelter at their headquarters, but they declined, stating that they would prefer stay with family members where they could get both moral and material support.
Meanwhile, Craig Persaud, Managing Director of UMAMI Inc. an agro- processing company, operating just behind the scene of the fire, touched by the devastation the victims have suffered, immediately took a decision to come to their rescue in some form. He purchased and donated two double- bed frames and these were complemented by mattresses given by the Guyana Relief Council. In addition, he has made a commitment to sustain the three families for the next month, offering them a weekly stipend so as to give them a start to getting back on their feet. “And we stand ready to do so, whenever we are called upon,” he assured. Persaud visited the scene of the fire where the presentation was made on Friday afternoon and spent much time with the victims, offering them consolation and support, in this their time of distress.

(By Shirley Thomas)