–leaves one dead after witnessing the ordeal, another 11 homeless

By Navendra Seoraj

A FIRE of unknown origin on Monday razed a two-storey apartment building at Lot 41 Princess Street, leaving about 12 persons homeless just days before people the world over usher in the New Year.

The devastation on the faces of the tenants was evident as they watched, teary eyed as the building went up in flames on Monday. One tenant, 47-year-old Michael North reportedly collapsed on the scene after witnessing his apartment go up in flames.

Authorities later confirmed that North, who worked as a driver at the Ministry of Indigenous Peoples’ Affairs, died while receiving treatment at the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC).

Persons who were at the scene, told the Guyana Chronicle that the man was called away from work after the fire started.

“When the man come, the man see the place on fire and he just collapsed on the ground,” one eyewitness said.

Another tenant of the razed apartment building, Shancey McDonald, a mother of four who frequently interacted with North, said he was a quiet man who would often just go to work and then spend the rest of his time at home.

“The man been living there for four years.” McDonald said, adding: “Just the other day he bought a big TV and other stuff for the season. So this is really sad. He lived there alone, but he had everything. He had like two televisions, a fridge, a freezer and a lot more… He was a real organised man.”

Guyana Fire Service (GFS) Divisional Officer of Operations, Gregory Wickham confirmed

that on arrival at the scene, his team had to call the ambulance, because North had fainted.

“On arrival at the scene, we also recognised that the top floor of the building was fully engulfed,” Wickham said, adding: “Investigative work after that revealed that there were three occupants of the building who were on scene.”

Noting that two fire tenders were deployed when the fire service initially got the call, Wickham said that from all indications, the fire started in the kitchen area of an apartment on the top floor. What still has him puzzled, however, is that that apartment was not only locked, but no one was in it when the fire started.

Wickham said that while no one was physically injured due to the fire, investigators are in the process of eliminating and identifying what electrical appliance might have inadvertently been left on, or what exactly would have caused the fire.

Owner of the property, Gordon Copeland was reluctant to comment, but an occupant of the building, one Kelvin McDonald, who shared an apartment with his sister, Shancey, said there were about four families who occupied the building. McDonald said everyone was counting their losses, which were well into the millions of dollars.

“I moved here the other day from ‘The West Side’,” he said, “so that I could be closer to work. But now this gone and happen, I ain’t know what else to do. All I have now is the clothes I’m wearing,” said the distraught tenant.

He said he lost his fridge, television and sofa, as well as important documents, while his sister lost money, documents and electronic appliances. Prior to the tragedy, Kelvin said he was planning to move, because the landlord would often cause problems for the tenants.
McDonald said that Copeland, the landlord, was recently taken to court by the occupants of the apartment where the fire is believed to have started. Another tenant of the building, Kerion Campbell, said he was also told about the court issue involving the landlord and the tenant. Copeland reportedly occupied the bottom flat of the building.

He was, however, more distraught about his losses, which ran up to about $1.5M. Campbell, a father of one, said he has been living with his family in the building for just over a month. The man was contemplating his next move, but said he will not give up.
In light of this latest tragedy, Divisional Officer Wickham is advising persons to be very careful around open flames. He said that because it is the festive season, persons will want to use additional electrical appliances. He is however cautioning that they ensure that standard wiring and appliances are used.

“Don’t use drop cords or run them under carpets,” he said. “If you use outdoor lighting and wiring, then they must be of the standard to suit the condition. If not, do not do that,” he added.