FIRE Chief Marlon Gentle has confirmed that the fire which gutted a home at Vigilance Squatting Area, East Coast Demerara (ECD) on December 30, 2016 causing the death of Bianca Sancho, three, was electrical in origin.Investigators say the house was receiving electricity through an illegal connection and generally, the area was receiving unregulated supply of electricity.

The blaze started with fairy lights located next to a window curtain, which caught fire and rapidly spread throughout the house.

According to reports, Lovern Sancho and her four children, including Bianca, were asleep in separate bedrooms of the two-storey wooden house when the mother was awakened about 07:00hrs by the smell of smoke and saw the house partially engulfed in flames.

Upon seeing this, she hurriedly rushed three of the children out of the home and was returning for the fourth when the upper-flat caved, preventing her from entering.

Within moments, the building was completely engulfed in flames with Bianca Sancho trapped inside.

The mother, who was devastated at her loss, had to be taken to a nearby health centre for treatment as she had also sustained minor burns about the body.

An official of the Guyana Fire Service explained that after receiving the report, several tenders from Campbellville, Georgetown and Mahaica, ECD responded, but by the time they arrived, the house was already in flames and nothing could have been done to save the child.

The firefighters, however,managed to contain the blaze and a few hours later found the charred remains of the toddler.

The family formerly resided in Buxton but moved to occupy the Vigilance house some three years ago. They are now staying at relatives.

Apart from the fire service, a separate probe was launched by the Child Care and Protection Agency (CC&PA) to determine the conditions under which the children were living.