Fire, of unknown origin, yesterday gutted the home of Legal Clerk Ian Skeffers, at 13 Roxanne Burnham Gardens, South Ruimveldt, shortly before 13:00 hrs, leaving millions of dollars in destruction and practically nothing untouched. Commendable fire-fighting by ranks of the Guyana Fire Service contained the blaze to Skeffers’ home, sparing the buildings occupied by Claudette Higgins to the east and Terrence Downer to the west.
Neighbours claimed the fire started on the lower flat, in a room situated in the front part of the building.
Skeffers, who neighbours claim lived alone in the two flat wooden building, was not at home at the time, hence lost everything in the inferno. Additionally, no one around seemed to know his whereabouts, except to say that he would normally leave home around 8:00 h and return in the afternoons.  The building would be tightly shut up in is absence, they said.
Terrence Downer, living at 14 Roxanne Burnham Gardens, recalled he last saw Skeffers on his verandah on Sunday afternoon. And yesterday, Downer who warming his meal shortly after noon, said he looked out his window, only to see smoke emanating from the building. He said he called the Fire Service, and in the meantime summoned the help of neighbours to get his personal belongings out into the yard, for fear that the fire would spread to his home. However, the blaze was contained.
Another neighbour, Linda Thompson of West Ruimveldt, on the other side of  Mandela Avenue, said that she was speaking with a neighbour in a yard when she looked across and saw the fire. They hurriedly alerted others and ran across to help the elderly Downer get his furniture and other valuables out of the house and into his yard.
But some neighbours, on condition of anonymity, recalled that around mid morning they heard a crackling cracking sound in Skeffers’ house, and on looking across, noticed that one of his doors on the lower floor, to the west of the building, was open. One man claimed he quickly armed himself with a pitchfork and waited to see who would emerge out of the building. However waiting for a very long time and not seeing any one, he gave up.
Then just after midday he discovered that the house was on fire.
The Guyana Chronicle subsequently learnt that Skeffers was previously employed with the Rex Mc Kay Law Firm and had later moved to Forde and Amsterdam Law Associates on Croal Street, but could not determine whether he is still employed there.
As fire fighters and senior fire ranks continued to comb the debris looking for clues yesterday, they kept hoping Mr. Skeffers would show up, but he did not.
The fire department is continuing its investigations.