A fire which struck a Plaisance Railway Embankment home on the East Coast Demerara yesterday evening has left among others an 18-month old baby homeless.

Though unconfirmed, the Guyana Chronicle was informed that six persons lived in the wooded home, which was gutted by a fire of which its cause is still undetermined. While the exact number of persons who lived in the home was not known up to the time of this publication, we were, however, able to confirm that the baby and her parents lived in the home.
The house was not fitted with electricity from GPL and persons in the area are of the view that the fire might have started due to a lit candle or a stove in the house.
It was only the three who were at home at the time the fire started and were quickly moved to safety after the fire was discovered.
The mother of the 18-month old baby was not in a condition to speak with the media but according to persons within the area the fire started just before 08:00 hrs.
One man said that they first noticed the fire when it burst through the roof of the home and they immediately raised an alarm and formed a bucket brigade. However, he explained that the fire became more than they could have handled and after it was determined that no one else was in the building they retreated and awaited the arrival of the Guyana Fire Service.
The Guyana Fire Service responded with two fire tenders while the police maintained a presence at the location.
Meanwhile, had the fire service not responded in time the situation could have been worst since a neighbour who retails cooking gas had his cage with both filled and empty gas bottles just near to the fence where the fire was raging
This publication observed the items and enquired of the man why the items were not taken out of the yard, and was told that when the fire started the person who lived at the house retailing the gas could not find the keys to the cage.

(By Leroy Smith)