A FIRE, at Lot 579 Tenth Street, Cummings Lodge, East Coast Demerara, on Wednesday night, destroyed a two-storey wooden house, leaving seven persons, including three children, homeless. The Guyana Fire Service (GFS), which responded to the call, said the blaze may have been started by “something” which was left unattended.
The flames were seen about 18:40 hrs when all the occupants were at home. One of them, Seema Singh said she was in the bottom flat but the conflagration had its origin in her ailing mother’s upstairs bedroom.
The firefighters, responding quickly, put out the fire but not before it had consumed the property, however, no one was injured.
Singh, a mother of three who works as a domestic, said she is the sole breadwinner of the family.
Meanwhile, police have not yet made any arrest following the arson, committed by three men, which led to the destruction of AL-Aziz Splash Inc. juice factory, at Lot 13 L’Esperance, Canal Number One Polder, West Bank Demerara, on February 3.
The owner, Mr. Abdul Aziz estimated his loss at $100M.
The masked arsonists breached the lock on the gate to the premises about 23:00 hrs, bound and gagged security guard Wazir Khan, 17, who was also set alight and suffered burns about his body.
The enterprise, which began operations in August 2010, provided employment for 15 persons and made fruit juices and other drinks.
A previous attempt to burn the place, about a month before, failed because Khan had pelted the intruders with bottles.