A SEXAGENARIAN woman perished yesterday in an early morning fire, of unknown origin, at Canal Number Two Polder, West Bank Demerara.
Bibi Saquknena Latif, 62, of Lot 22 Debuff, Canal Number Two Polder, West Bank Demerara, lived alone and was trapped inside her heavily grilled home when the blaze broke out shortly before 02:00 h. Her son, Osman (only name given) told reporters that he last saw his mother on Monday afternoon and she, usually, slept in the lower flat of the two-storey building and did a rum shop business.
He said she resided there for the past 33 years and is the mother of two other siblings.
Fire Chief Marlon Gentle told the Guyana Chronicle that the flames may have been electrically started in the lower flat near a room where alcohol was stored but investigations are continuing.
He said smoke was first seen before the place was totally engulfed, trapping the elderly woman inside.
Gentle said her charred remains were retrieved from a bed and handed over to Wales Police, also on West Bank Demerara, after they attended the emergency call received around 01:50 h and responded promptly.
Two units were dispatched, one from West Ruimveldt in Georgetown and another
from Leonora, West Coast Demerara. But, when the firefighters arrived, the building was already well alight and collapsed without anything in it being saved.
Gentle said what remained of the woman is awaiting a post mortem examination.
A neighbour, Vishnu Mohabir told this newspaper he awoke at about 01:50 h and,  on smelling smoke, got up and checked his house. Then he looked outside and saw it billowing from Latif’s house and raised an alarm.
Mohabir said a bucket brigade was formed but calls to the woman met with no response and he and others could not get in to rescue her.
He said, within half an hour, the entire two-storey was reduced to rubble and they stood helplessly watching it burn.
Mohabir said it was the vibrant bucket brigade that saved houses on both sides of the destroyed one.
Shocked residents said they had never seen a building burn so quickly.
Mohabir said there was a mild explosion prior to the destruction and one side of his house was scorched and the heat shattered louvre windows there.
He was, however, thankful that his house is still standing.
Embers
Another neighbour, Ramsaroop Mahadeo said the fire tenders arrived at about 02:30 h after the entire building was destroyed but the firemen doused the embers.
He said he released water from his six water tanks and soaked his house but he, too, lost louvre panes.
The dead woman is the second person to have died in such a conflagration over the last week.  On Friday, Police at Linden, Upper Demeraa River, were informed a seven-year-old handicapped boy succumbed in similar circumstances at Ant Island, Issano, Mazaruni.
The child, George Manley, who lived with his grandmother, was left alone in the house on Monday around 19:30 h and a lit kerosene lamp either fell or exploded, Police said.
The boy’s corpse was handed over to Linden Police prior to being transported to Lyken Funeral Parlour, in the city, as well.
His grandmother was assisting with the Police investigations.
Meanwhile, in light of the frequency with which fires have been occurring recently, particularly now that children are home from school for the August holidays, Gentle reiterated a warning for persons to be very careful and on guard.
“Now that children are home, their supervision is key for the avoidance of fires. Keep things such as matches out of their reach and insist that they not play with electrical wires,’ he cautioned.
Noting that blackouts occur at nights, Gentle said people should not go to sleep, leaving candles or lamps burning, or in a way that would cause disaster.