By Navendra Seoraj

TRAGEDY struck around noon on Sunday, when fire of yet unknown origin razed the Middle Road, La Penitence home of an elderly couple, leaving them homeless.

“Some things in there meant more to me than life,” said 67-year-old Mr Colin Clarke, who estimates that his losses could run into millions of dollars.

When the Guyana Chronicle arrived on the scene, members of the Guyana Fire Service (GFS) were battling to extinguish the fire, which had already taken its toll on most of the two-storey building.

Clarke was also seen braving the fire in an effort to save what he could, but it was to no avail; almost everything in the house had already been reduced to ashes.

Besides losing electrical and other household appliances, the retired draughtsman bemoaned losing all the tools of his trade, some hunting gear, and other things he said he holds very dear.

As the fire blazed, one spunky woman could be seen trying for all she’s worth to save a television set, an act of bravery that was replicated by a number of spectators gathered along the sides of the street as they went to the aid of those living close by.

With the blaze spreading rapidly, many of Clarke’s immediate neighbours could be seen trying to save whatever household appliances, furniture and other pricey items they could, just in case things got out of hand.

However, firemen were able to prevent the fire from further spreading, for which a distraught Mr Clarke is very grateful. He told the Guyana Chronicle that in all the years he has been living there, he’s never had such a harrowing experience.

Recalling events leading up to the fire, Clarke said he and his wife, Marilyn, left home early that morning without cooking or doing any of their daily routines.

“We left, but I returned,” Mr Clarke said, adding:
“I was hungry, so I went eating a mango by the tree outside of the yard. And as I turned around, I saw black smoke coming out from the house…

“I rush to see where it was coming from, but when I open the door, the blaze was too much, so I had to leave it.”

Many of his neighbours, he said, tried to help put the blaze out, but had to give up in the end.

The Guyana Chronicle has learnt that only the refrigerator was on when the couple left home, so the origin of the fire is still “a mystery”.

However, residents complained that they have been experiencing low voltage for quite some time, but no one confirmed whether a formal complaint was ever lodged with the Guyana Power and Light Inc (GPL).

Members of the Fire Service are still investigating the matter, and are yet to pronounce on the origin of the fire.