THREE brothers, all suffering different health issues, Tuesday lost their shack when it went up in flames. Homeless are Samuel Critchlow, Hubert Nathaniel Critchlow, and Andrew Pollard of lot 40 Goedverwagting Railway Embankment, East Coast Demerara.

Speaking with the Guyana Chronicle yesterday afternoon, Samuel Critchlow who was recently discharged from hospital after undergoing surgery explained that he was not at home at the time the fire started.
He said that he was at work not far off when his boss told him that he saw smoke coming from the direction where he lived and advised him to check. The man said that he informed his boss that it did not look as though the fire was coming from his home and if that were so he should have seen people running into his yard.
However, the man said that he set out walking to his home but was unable to do so briskly given his recent surgery. According to Critchlow, when he arrived there and pushed his gate he realised that his home had been razed to the ground and nothing was saved.
The man said that it is believed that one of his brothers had started the fire. He said that his two brothers, Hubert and Andrew, were at home when the fire started.
Hubert is often admitted to the Georgetown Public Hospital for lengthy periods but from time to time he would escape from the institution and make his way home.
The man reportedly got away from the hospital on Tuesday and had been at home since.
Samuel said that on Tuesday night his brother Hubert began breaking up bottles while promising to take his own life. He said that he realised that his brother’s pain was getting overbearing and he served him two pain relief tablets.
Samuel said he is not sure how his two brothers were able to escape from the burning building.
Samuel told this newspaper that he has lost everything in the fire and the only thing he has remaining is the clothing which he had on.
Residents in the area said that the fire service responded promptly to the emergency call but despite their efforts the shack was razed, given its age. Firefighters were, however, able to save two other buildings which were also located in the same yard.