A FIRE of unknown origin destroyed the upper flat of a family home at Lot 46 Rasville, Georgetown, on Saturday, leaving about seven people homeless.
One of the occupants, Collonda Howe, told the Sunday Chronicle that she and her family are now left with thousands of dollars in losses. Howe said that while her siblings were able to save a minuscule number of items, she was unable to save any of the valuables from her home which was located on the bottom flat of the two-storey concrete structure.
Due to swift action by the Guyana Fire Service, the building sustained damage only to the interior walls, the ceiling and the floor separating the two-storey house; the exterior of the building was saved from complete devastation.

Howe, a vendor, indicated that the building is owned by her late mother; she and her siblings reside there and decided to divide the building by making it into six living quarters.
Howe recalled how she was alerted to the fire.
“I deh at the market and I hear the phone ringing, when I picked up the phone my brother tell me everything on fire, nothing ain’t save.”
Howe emphasised that this is an especially devastating loss as she had worked tirelessly to help with refurbishing of the house.

“My home I do piece piece, I does sell at the market, I does do [pedicure] sometimes and plus I does make a cold medicine to sell on Sundays; all of that to build my home and now all that gone down the drain, all the ingredients, everything that I used to use for business gone and business is not like before, business hard,” Howe told the Sunday Chronicle.
Howe, her son and five other people live on the top floor of the building; she noted that her son and nephew were at home when the fire started and her nephew was the one who alerted others about the fire.
Howe is unaware of how the fire started but according to information reaching the family, it erupted in the top flat. The Fire Service is investigating to ascertain the cause.