– blame cast on ‘junkies’
AN EARLY morning fire, believed to be the deed of drug addicts, severely damaged a two-storey building on upper Croal Street, Stabroek, here in the city yesterday before it was eventually contained by the Guyana Fire Service (GFS). The blaze, believed to have started at around 08:45hrs, was allegedly caused by some ‘junkies’ who began frequenting the property and vandalizing it after the last tenants moved out last August.
According to reports, the fire could not have been electrical in origin, since both power and water supply to the property were disconnected some weeks ago. The assumption is that the ‘junkies’ must have been burning old wires to get copper to sell as they usually did, and inadvertently left the fire they were using unattended.
Marilyn Correia, who lives next door and confirmed that the house was unoccupied, said that after seeing the smoke and ensuing flames, she hurriedly called the Fire Service.
The wooden and concrete property is believed to be owned by Attorney-at-Law, Robert Hanoman.
Just Thursday night, bandits set fire to a recently established juice factory at L’Esperance, Canal Number One Polder, West Bank Demerara, destroying it in the process and leaving an estimated loss of over $100M.
The three gun-toting marauders reportedly broke into the building and set the security guard alight when he could not meet their demand for money. (Michelle Outridge)