KENDRA Petrie and her five children have been displaced after their Hope South, Enmore, East Coast Demerara home was destroyed by fire.

The family was renting the upper flat of the two-storied wooden and concrete building.
The house was allegedly set ablaze by a man who is a relative of the property owner. Petrie and her children were not at home at the time of the blaze.

Tuesday’s arson came just a few days after the said suspect had set fire to the stairs leading to the property, according residents. The man was arrested for that offence but was placed on bail as the police continued investigations into that matter.

Since that incident, Petrie and her children, including another, returned to the community of Golden Grove where they lived previously before moving to the Enmore property. The woman sent her daughter to the Enmore property on Tuesday to remove some items from the home and it is unclear what transpired but, during that process, the suspect set fire to the building. He lived downstairs in one of two apartments, according to his father.

When the Guyana Chronicle visited the area on Wednesday morning, it was observed that everything in the upper flat of the building had been reduced to ashes. The police in their probe found that after setting the place on fire, the suspect attempted to flee the area but he was promptly arrested after he was pointed out by persons in the area.