A fire believed to have been started by a man of unsound mind destroyed a two-storey house at Glasgow New Housing Scheme, New Amsterdam leaving four persons homeless.
The fire started at around 10:00h in the lower flat of the wooden and concrete building, located at Lot 945 Glasgow New Housing Scheme, which was owned by two pensioners, Jean and Esie Benjamin.
According to reports, the son of the pensioners, Surdat Williams, who is of unsound mind and who occupies the lower flat of the building, had a disagreement with his 17-year-old niece on Friday.
Guyana Times was told that following that disagreement, the niece went into the upper flat of the building and locked herself inside.
However, in an effort to gain access to the teenager, the suspect reportedly used dried coconut shells and lit the fire.
The distraught young woman spoke to this newspaper and relayed that she only moved in with her grandparents a few months ago. She said her grandmother suffered a stroke and as such she was there to take care of her. The teen did not disclose what she and her uncle were arguing about, but noted that after he lit the fire, it quickly spread to his bedroom.
The shaken teen further revealed that she managed to escape unhurt after jumping over a verandah from the upper flat of the building. Her grandparents who are out at the time of the incident disclosed to this publication that by the time they returned home, the house was completely destroyed.
In anger, Esie Benjamin told this publication, “He lucky l aint see him before the Police.”
The community of New Amsterdam was alerted to the fire after a gas cylinder exploded. However, by the time the New Amsterdam Fire Service responded with two units, the house was fully engulfed.
The suspect was taken into Police custody.
