A fire which is suspected to be electrical in origin, partially destroyed a two storied house  at Second Street, Overwinning Village, East Bank Berbice on Thursday afternoon leaving four persons homeless.

The fire started around 1430hrs on Thursday.

Pensioner Hazmon Mohamed, known as ‘Aunty Dora’, along with her husband  Philbert Butcher, lived at the lower flat.Her daughter Sabrina Jaffar, the New Amsterdam Branch Manager of A.H&L Kissoon, occupied the upper flat of the building with her seven-year-old son.

Aunty Dora , a former Guyana Sugar Corporation (GuySuCo)employee, told Guyana Chronicle that after relaxing a bit she ventured into her bathroom.She said it was whilst having a bath that she heard someone shouting ‘Fire! Fire!’.

Butcher recalled being seated in the hammock, on the lower flat ,when someone raised an alarm.

“I got up, whilst looking upwards saw  black billowing smoke emanating from the  back of the upper flat. I ran inside and grabbed a bucket in an attempt to extinguish the blaze.But when I threw the water, the fire gushed at me. The little boy was attempting to throw too , but we retreated.Someone called the fire station, and they responded timely,” he said.

During this time Aunty Dora said she managed to pull a dress off the clothes line before hurrying out of the bathroom and running to safety .

“God really help me. I normally can’t handle stressful situations, but I don’t know where this strength come from. Me  thank God,” she said.

She said after working  for many years at the  back dam of Providence and Rose Hall estates , she built her home and furnished it. She estimates her loses to be over $6M.

She said  that  while the fire did not destroy her wooden furnishings on the lower flat, all electrical appliances,including her television set, were damaged.

 Investigations  into the fire are ongoing.