FOLLOWING the fire which destroyed a dwelling house at Lot 18 Catherine, Mahaicony, East Coast Demerara on Monday, Chief Fire Officer Marlon Gentle said so far it is suspected to be electrical in nature, but could very well have been accidental.He said that residents reported that the 72-year-old pensioner lived alone and was observed burning some marabunta nests at his property on the same day of the blaze.

Gentle said a probe has been launched, and once completed, the findings will be made known.

He said the closest fire station is at Onverwagt, which is about 18 miles from the fire scene and it took the fire tender a while to get to the location but by then the building was totally engulfed.

Gentle added that when firemen arrived they resorted to using water from the nearby canal and contained the blaze to the two-storey house.

On Tuesday at about 17:30 hrs the home of Rajnarine Persaud was devoured by flames and he was rescued from the building by neighbours.

The elderly man was the lone occupant and was inside the house when the conflagration started.

Meanwhile, in a separate fire at Retrieve, Linden, 11 persons were left homeless when a two-storey house was completely gutted by fire of an unknown origin on March 4, 2015. Gentle said the probe is underway.

He said that the fire may have been electrical or one which was started by children who reside in the lower flat of the house.

Gentle said the blaze reportedly started at about 22:00hrs and the fire tender from MacKenzie, Linden responded and contained the conflagration.

One of the fire victims, Rhonda Morrison told the Guyana Chronicle that she was not at home when the fire occurred since she was at church but noted that within minutes the entire structure was no more.

She said the two-storey house was occupied by three families and now a total of 11 persons, including children, are homeless.

She and her family occupied the upper flat while the lower flat was divided into two apartments which housed two families, all of whom were asleep when the blaze started last Wednesday night.

Morrison and her family are staying by relatives in the same street, while the others sought alternative arrangements elsewhere.