HAVING lost all their worldly possessions to an inferno at their house located at Lot 360 Block 12 Non Pareil, East Coast Demerara, on June 1, the homeowner and businessman, Hanoman Singh, died without regaining consciousness two days after.

On Friday, the family did a puja according to Hindu rites, since it was the 13th day of the death of their loved ones following the fire.

Fire victim Ashley Singh told the Guyana Chronicle that since the blaze, things haven’t been the same because it was one thing after the other, but their biggest loss was that of their father, who was consumed with grief over the loss of his two-storey house.

She related that her mother and two siblings were really trying to cope with everything that has happened, but it is difficult, since they have nowhere to go and are sleeping in the burnt-out area of their home on the ground.

Singh added that they have placed pallets on the concrete and they were given a mattress by a neighbour. They are making the best of whatever was donated to them by villagers and relatives.

Ashley Singh said, “It is not easy, things have changed and we are really trying to cope as is.”

Prior to the conflagration, the family of five operated a business place located at Lot 100 Gandhi Street, Enterprise, also on the East Coast of Demerara, a bar which has remained closed indefinitely, given the series of unfortunate events that has taken place.

The family was at the same business place on June 1, when they received a telephone call from a neighbour, stating that their house was on fire.

Reshma Singh, a daughter of the Singhs, told the Guyana Chronicle that it was before 09:00hrs and by the time the home-owners arrived on the scene, the building was already engulfed in raging flames. As such, they could do nothing but look on as millions of dollars in belongings was destroyed.

The woman reported that shortly before the blaze, the area had experienced a power outage and it was when the village was re-powered with electricity neighbours saw “fire” running from the electrical wire to the house, which quickly ripped through the entire edifice.

Singh related that the fire started from the upper flat of the house and noted that nothing electrical was left on inside the building.

The house was renovated about three years ago and the lower flat housed a shop which was fully stocked and was expected to be opened soon, since the family had recently acquired their licence.

The family of five had been residing at the location for the past 23 years and said that they are unsure what they will do next, since they did not get to save anything from the building and are left with the clothes on their backs.

Their losses run into millions of dollars.

Their father, Hanoman Singh, 57, passed away in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) of the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC) two days after the house was destroyed by fire.

Reshma Singh told the Guyana Chronicle that since the elder Singh arrived on the scene of the fire, he could not speak when he saw his house up in flames and rode off on his bicycle.

He was found in an unconscious condition in the Botanical Gardens the morning after the fire and was transported by ambulance to the GPHC, where he was hooked up on a life-support machine until he succumbed to what medical professionals said was cardiac arrest.

Reshma Singh said the businessman did not suffer from heart ailments prior to his death, but had shortness of breath and often complained about knee pains.

She related that he was distressed about losing his worldly possessions and took ill and never regained consciousness; he subsequently died around 16:00hrs at the GPHC.