EIGHT persons, including six children, are now homeless following a fire at Fifth Street, Non Pareil, East Coast Demerara yesterday afternoon.One of six children who were at home when the blaze ripped through the entire two-storey concrete house escaped without major injuries after he jumped through a window onto a shed, then to safety.

Shane Persaud, an occupant of the home, told the Guyana Chronicle that he was on the verandah when he observed fire in the living room in the upper flat of the building. He said he managed to exit the edifice while alerting his siblings, who were in various parts of the house, about the present danger.

Persaud added that the blaze was spreading rapidly, and he made sure his siblings were out of the building before alerting neighbours to the situation. They assisted in taking out some household appliances from the kitchen on the lower flat.

He was thankful that no one was injured yesterday, and was also in loud praise for the assistance the family received from villagers.

A very distraught Bevon Austin, mother of six, said she was not at home when the fire started, but she received a telephone call informing her of the incident, and she rushed home only to see her house being reduced to charred rubble.

The woman said she had prepared lunch, and had stepped out without having the meal. She broke down in tears as she watched firemen battle the flames, which devoured the building within minutes.

A section of the wall collapsed while firefighters were dousing the blaze, but luckily, no one was injured.

Austin said she had moved into the property with her six children and husband three months ago. She used to reside at Princes Street, Georgetown. This mother said that, at time of the fire, no cooking was being done, but there was a power outage; and after electricity was restored, the house went up in flames.

Persaud said he observed that the fire started from the wall where a phone charger was plugged in. There was a series of power outages yesterday.
The fire started at about 14:30 hrs, and it was sometime before the fire tender arrived on the scene and contained the blaze to that building.

Austin said she is unsure what to do next, since she has lost all her worldly possessions in the fire. Neighbours have been trying to comfort her.

The razed building was once occupied by a businessman, who was murdered several years ago; and after some time had elapsed, out of fear, his sons and wife vacated the place and it went up for sale.

The Guyana Fire Service (GFS), meanwhile, disclosed that there was a decrease in the number of fires last year as compared to prior years.

By Michel Outridge
Samuel Maughn photos