KISSOON Dial, owner of the popular Kakaralli Sawmill in Amelia’s Ward, Linden, suffered millions in losses after his home, store room and tool shed were destroyed on Wednesday morning. However, a quick response from the Linden fire service enabled them to contain the blaze from spreading to other parts of the sawmill.

Dial was already tending to customers when he was alerted by his housekeeper, that his one-storey wooden house was on fire. Despite his efforts to start a bucket brigade, the entire house went up in flames before spreading to the nearby tool shed and storage room. Housekeeper Verona Boyle was in the kitchen washing dishes when she felt a sudden heat, shortly before 10:00hrs and decided to investigate. “I was just finish making breakfast.

I was in the kitchen washing dishes, so I feel a heat whilst washing these dishes so I know the gas stove is right behind me. When I turn around, me ain’t see no fire. Something tell me come outside. When I come out now, when I look that way at the bedroom, I saw fire in the bedroom and I started screaming.

Dial’s son, Avmid Dial, said that he saw smoke in the house and by the time they decided to throw water on it, everything was engulfed in flames. He then drove away after becoming confused. He described his father’s losses in the millions and related that the most losses came from the tool shed, where every tool used at the sawmill was destroyed.

“Every little fine, fine thing he had, motors, to the things to test the motors, every, everything gone,” he lamented.
Whilst the fire fighters have launched an investigation into the cause of the fire, it is suspected to be electrical in origin. Dial lived on the property for over two decades.