UNDERTAKERS on Sunday removed the charred remains of a man in his 60s, whose name was given as Fazal, from his burnt house at Better Hope South, East Coast Demerara.

A tenant who lives in the same yard with the man told this publication that she was inside her house when she saw smoke and smelt something burning.
She said that upon investigating, she found that it was a tarpaulin which she uses to prevent the sun from coming into her house that appeared to be on fire.
It was then that she realised that the house next door to hers was on fire. She said too that she was aware that the neighbour whose house was on fire, was at home at the time. However, at that point, she did not know whether the neighbour’s wife and children were at home.

The Guyana Chronicle was told that by the time persons realised that the house was on fire, the man was already engulfed by the flames and laying on his landing. The heat from the fire also prevented persons from running to the home and rendering assistance to the now deceased man.
One woman said that she ran out on the street and began to call for help, and to have the other residents come out and assist in putting out the fire while they called for the fire tender.

This newspaper was told that the man had been living at the location for some time now. The property is said to be owned by his mother, but his sister reportedly took it over and began renting out the house which is situated on the land.
This newspaper understands that the sister who resides in Canada had constructed a small wooden structure on a section of the land and fenced it off.

Speaking with this publication, Senior Fire Investigator Andrew Holder indicated that the Fire Service has been able to assertively come up with the cause of the fire. He said that it started as a result of unattended cooking, and this was further corroborated by the discovery of the stove which was found in an ‘on’ position, along with other signs, such as the remains of food that are indicative of cooking activities.

Holder used the opportunity to call on members of the public not to leave their cooking unattended as they stand the risk of suffering a similar fate.

When this publication arrived on the scene, both police and fire investigators were on the scene gathering information and interviewing members of the community.