A VENEZUELAN woman is currently in police custody after a fire of unknown origin destroyed a wooden cottage at Bartica Arcade.
According to a police release, the wooden cottage/house measuring approximately 20 feet in length by 15 feet in width, was abandoned by its owner, 68-year-old Alfred Wyatt and had become a makeshift home for vagrants.

Eyewitness Seeyone Lindore, a 45-year-old businessman in the area, recalled the moment he noticed smoke emanating from the wooden structure.
Lindore told police that he saw a Venezuelan national, identified as Carmen Cristina Ruiz, fleeing from the yard while uttering the words, “It was an accident.”
Lindore immediately contacted the police and the Guyana Fire Service.

Police officers and fire service personnel quickly responded to the scene, deploying Water Tender #98 and Water Bowser #11 to combat the inferno. However, the fire had already consumed the building by the time they arrived.

Ruiz, who had reportedly decided to take up residence in the abandoned cottage, claimed that she had left Bartica Arcade around 16:30 hours to purchase groceries from a Chinese supermarket. Upon her return, she allegedly discovered a mattress ablaze in the structure.

Ruiz attempted to remove the burning mattress but was unsuccessful. As the fire quickly spread, she managed to escape to safety.
The now-destroyed house did not have electricity and was uninsured. The total cost of the damage remains unknown at this time.

Ruiz is currently cooperating with the investigators.