A 76-year-old man has lost his life after a fire razed the house he was occupying at Lot 292 Bachelor’s Adventure, East Coast Demerara (ECD).

According to the Guyana Fire Service (GFS), Charles Brown perished in the fire which ripped through the flat concrete-and-wood structure owned by Onika Lawrence.

The GFS related that it was alerted of the incident at around 08:20hrs on Thursday, and responded by dispatching a water tender and an ambulance and crew from the Melanie Fire Station, and another water tender from the Mahaica Fire Station.

The Fire Service was unable to save the building, since the fire spread rapidly through the house. However, preliminary investigations have revealed that the supposed cause of the fire was an unattended kerosene stove which flared up and ignited nearby combustible items.

“As a result of the fire, the building and its contents were destroyed, and Charles Brown lost his life,” the GFS reported.
The other occupants of the house, 35-year-old Andrew Reid and 30-year-old Godfrey Reid are now left without a roof over their heads.

In light of this incident, the GFS is calling on citizens to take the necessary precautions to avoid fire emergencies, and to educate themselves regarding fire safety and fire prevention.

Citizens are also advised to not leave cooking appliances unattended, and to ensure that stoves are properly turned off when not in use.
“Keep children away from the cooking area, and ensure matches and lighters are out of the reach of children. Make use of fire prevention and firefighting devices such as smoke detectors and fire extinguishers,” the fire service said.