A 75-year-old man is now dead after a fire of unknown origin ripped through his home located at Lot 27-34 Pilot Street, New Amsterdam, Berbice in Region Six (East Berbice-Corentyne).
The fire, which erupted at about 05:30h, also destroyed a workshop that has been in existence for over 100 years.
Dead: Oscar Liddell Snr
Dead is 75-year-old Oscar Liddell, a joiner who previously operated a workshop in the bottom flat of his two-storey building. The workshop is now being run by his son Oscar Liddell Jr.
The younger Liddell, who lives nearby, said he was asleep at the time of the fire, and was awakened by a neighbour from the next street calling out indicating that there was smoke coming from the kitchen.
According to Liddell, when he got out of bed and realised what was happening, he went tssssssssssso his verandah and threw the keys to his father’s house to one of the neighbours who had gathered in front of the burning building.
The 38-year-old man said he rushed over to his father’s front door and went inside while a neighbour entered from the back door, but the smoke was very thick.
However, he braved the heat and smoke in an attempt to rescue his father, whom he saw in his bedroom but could not get to him.
“He was on the bed probably already passed out. I just run through the kitchen and push open the backdoor and come downstairs. Probably the fire was in the ceiling before it come down. So, when we were upstairs it could have caved in on us,” the man recalled.
Liddell said during his brief stay in the building he was choking as a result of the thick smoke.
He said he does not know what the cause of the fire was, but from all indications, it started in the kitchen.
According to the man, while it is possible that his father might have gotten up to make a hot beverage, the pensioner had no reason to cook.
Meanwhile, the Guyana Fire Service is currently investigating the circumstances which led to a fire.
Reports are that by the time the Fire Service arrived, the entire building was engulfed with a second house just seven feet away and the pensioner in the burning building.
Oscar Liddell Jr saw his father lying on the bed but could not get to him
Liddell said he appreciated the job done by the firefighters, who acted as soon as they arrived at the scene.
“They hook up quick and deal with it fact because we would have lost both houses. When they came, the fire was already in the ceiling, but they did a wonderful job because we would have lost both houses because they are just seven feet apart. I am not doubting the fact that they did a good job, but it is just the timing from when we called it took about ten minutes and the Fire Station is right over there but other than that they did a good job. We were just seeing a little smoke but the smoke was already inside the house.
When we open the front door and run up, the smoke was already coming down from the ceiling. The kitchen was already burnt right through to the bathroom. When I hit the kitchen, I could have barely make it,” the joiner said.
The building housed a workshop that came into existence in 1919 and was operated by John Liddell, who then passed it onto his son who perished in Wednesday’s fire. Over the past ten years, his only son has been running the century-old workshop.
The building was completely destroyed
The workshop/joiner shop was one of the first established in the town of New Amsterdam. John Liddell operated the business from 1919 to 1987, when he passed away and then his son took it over and ran the business until his retirement a decade ago.
According to Oscar Liddell Jr he started working in the shop at the tender age of 7-years-old. (seven)
“I work through school. When I come home from school I have to work. I had to be in the shop. My father use to make guitars, spindles and do carvings, wood shoe heels and so forth. I started doing spindles and took over after I was finished school,” Liddell said.
The business has now progressed to furniture manufacturing. Fortunately, there was not extensive damage to the electrical machinery which were situated in the workshop under the house. (G4)
