AN early morning fire on Monday completely destroyed a two-storey wooden building at James and King Edward Streets, Albouystown, and damaged two others in the area.

According to Orson Grose, the brother of the homeowner, he had gotten up to use the bathroom around 01:00hrs when the smell of smoke caught his attention. Upon leaving his residence in the upper flat of the building and walking down the street to the side of the house, he discovered that a blaze had begun in a section of the lower storey, and was spreading throughout the area.
“I came ‘round the corner to check to see what’s going on, and the place was already on fire from the inside,” he said.

The distraught man related that he did not get a chance to salvage any valuables, due to the rate at which the heat and fire had spread, adding that all he had left were the clothes he was clad in at the time.
His brother was not available for comment.

When the Guyana Chronicle visited the scene, the brothers’ aunt, who lives next door to them, explained that she was completely unaware as to what was going on until around 03:00hrs when she heard someone shouting her name from outside.

“Three o’clock this morning, I hear somebody hollering for ‘Sharon! Sharon! Fire!’ And when I peep out, I see that building in flames, and I run straight out,” she said. The woman had also grabbed a few necessities, and put them into a bag before she left, catering for a scenario in which her house would be destroyed by the fire.

However, to her relief, her home did not suffer any damage from the fire, except for the outer wall facing the Groses’ residence being charred.

Orson noted that while the Guyana Fire Service’s truck and crew had actually arrived at the scene within 15 minutes, there was nothing they could do to save his home. The crew, however, managed to keep the blaze from engulfing the houses in the surrounding area.

A grocery store in the lower flat of the building, which he said was a means of income, was destroyed in the blaze, and the total damages are estimated at around $10 million.
Fire Chief Kalamadeen Edoo has since stated that arson is the suspected cause of the early morning blaze, and investigations into the incident are underway.