By Vanessa Braithwaite

GOOD Friday turned out to be not so good for a family whose members were left homeless after an early morning fire gutted their home at Cinderella City, Amelia’s Ward, Linden.The three-bedroom upper flat wooden house was completely engulfed in a matter of minutes, and everything within the building was destroyed. This newspaper understands that the fire reportedly started at about 7:50 hrs, and the Fire Service responded fifteen minutes after being summoned.

When the Guyana Chronicle arrived on scene, firemen were still fighting to contain the blaze, while neighbours were in the yard trying to console Nadia Johnson, who had left her home to sell eggs not far away from the house. Her three children, aged 4, 3 and 2, were at home at the time of the fire, but managed to vacate the house unharmed.

One neighbour said the fire started in the middle bedroom, and she immediately alerted the neighbourhood, as she knew the children were home alone.

“I saw when the mother left the yard, and in five minutes’ time I hear when the children call out, ‘Mommy! Mommy!’ So I said probably the mother come back; so I buss my bedroom window and I see the children coming down the step, and when I raise my head, I see the second bedroom on fire and I holler out ‘Fire! Fire!’,” this neighbour related.

She said persons tried to save some furniture but were unsuccessful as the heat was unbearable. The house was built about three years ago, and was fully furnished; hence the estimated loss is about $2M.

Home occupant Nadia Johnson had to be rushed to the hospital, but was subsequently discharged and is being monitored by neighbours and family members as she mourns her losses.

“Nadia, these are material things. You will rise again! Let God take control,” neighbours and family members have encouraged her.

Nadia’s husband, who returned to work in Suriname only Wednesday, is unaware that the fire occurred.
It is not yet known what might have caused the fire.