– growing concern over suspected arsonists

RESIDENTS of Enterprise, East Coast Demerara (ECD) are uneasy since two houses in the area have been destroyed by fire in two consecutive days.

Although the Guyana Fire Service is yet to conclude their investigation into the matter, residents of the area have not ruled out arson, because, in one instance, one of the houses had no electricity yet the fire started in the living room.

The house, which is owned by a man called “Kada”, went up in flames on Friday evening, but according to neighbours, it had no electricity and at the time of the fire, there was a power outage.

Said one neighbour: “Around 7:30pm I looked out the window and see lights flashing in Kada house; you know, like when you walk around in a room with them phone light. So I peep out and see the fire coming from the living room, and before I know it, the fire spread. I rush down to move my cars after I see it getting out-of-hand.”
The fire service was alerted, but by the time they got to the scene, most of the house had already been destroyed.

Some of the neighbours who witnessed the fire, said none of the occupants of the house was home at the time; that the owner never showed up until Saturday.
Many want to know, “Why would someone do this to Kada?” Why it is so hard to fathom, they say, is because Kada is a humble fellow, who spends most of his days in the rum shop or with friends.

And while his niece and her children lived at the house with him, neighbours said they haven’t seen her or her children quite a few days now.
Suspicion began to grow because, prior to Kada’s house being destroyed, a house which was occupied by Vickram Sookraj, a fisherman, and his sister was also razed by fire just the day before.

Persons believe that the two incidents are connected, because, according to Sookraj’s neighbour, three men showed up at the house early Thursday, asking for a taxi driver from the area who is popularly known as “Pumpkin”.

The men reportedly met Sookraj’s sister, and enquired about Pumpkin but she denied knowing him or of his whereabouts. According to the neighbours, the men did not leave immediately, but instead went upstairs to “make sure” she was telling the truth.
After the men left house, the fisherman’s sister reportedly smelt smoke, and when she ran out, she saw that the house was on fire.

Residents in the neighbourhood reportedly formed a bucket brigade and tried to extinguish the fire but to no avail.

One neighbour said Sookraj arrived long after the house was gutted. He reportedly had just arrived from sea.

Persons from the community believe that it’s the same men that set Kada’s house on fire, because they were allegedly back in the area on Friday afternoon, again asking for Pumpkin.
This publication was told that persons in the neighbourhood are on high alert, because they believe that the men might come back to finish what they started.
“We report it to the police; so, until we hear back something, we will watch out, just to be on the safe side,” said a resident of the community.