Twenty persons are now without a home after two separate fires destroyed their Lot 35 Agricola Public Road, and Lot 110 Grove Public Road, East Bank Demerara houses on Friday.
Grove
Reports are that at about 02:34h on Friday, the Guyana Fire Service was alerted to a fire at Lot 110 Grove Public Road on the East Bank of Demerara. Subsequent to the call, water tenders from both the Eccles and Diamond Fire Stations were dispatched to the location. 
In a statement issued by the Guyana Fire Service, it was revealed that “The purported cause of the fire is a malicious setting by person(s) unknown.”
The two-storey wooden and concrete structure building which was owned by Dacie Metamon, who is deceased, housed four families.
The building, along with all of its contents, was completely destroyed, resulting in 13 persons being left homeless.
Two jets working from light pump #82 using an open water source and one jet working from a water bowser were used to extinguish the fire.
Agricola
Meanwhile later Friday afternoon, around 14:40h, the Guyana Fire Service was tasked with responding to another fire at Agricola, East Bank Demerara, which resulted in seven persons being rendered homeless, including 77-year-old Bibi Mohammed, four children, and others.
According to family members, someone was cooking and left the stove on, which resulted in the fire.
Bibi’s daughter, 42-year-old Denise Matthews said that the family has resided there for over 80 years and the home has been passed down from one generation to another.
She added that for the time being, she and others will be staying with her son in one of the other homes in the yard, which housed three buildings.
As a result of quick response from the Guyana Fire Service, the fire was contained to the building of origin, which housed four tenants.
The family estimates over $3 million in losses.
Late Friday afternoon, Home Affairs Minister Robeson Benn visited the family, where he was seen interacting with family members.
In an interview with this publication, the Minister revealed that the relevant authorities will review how best they can offer immediate assistance to the two families, however, any other assistance will be dealt with through the Ministry of Human Services and Social Security.
Human Services Minister, Dr Vindhya Persaud explained that the Ministry offers assistance in numerous ways to fire victims, whether it’s with food items, furniture, and more.
She added that in cases where a house is partially destroyed and only requires a little bit of rehab, the Ministry would assist, however in other instances where someone loses their entire home, they would usually be referred to Food For The Poor (FFTP) for further assistance.
It was previously reported by this publication that this year, FFTP is aiming to construct 100 homes for unfortunate families across the country.
