Four persons have now been rendered homeless after a fire suspected to be electrical in origin completely destroyed their Lot 58 Clifton, Port Mourant Corentyne home in the wee hours of Thursday morning.
According to information received, the blaze stated in that area of the home where the electrical circuit is kept.
The blaze also destroyed a business operated by Sunita Jagdeo and caused severe damage to a nearby building.
A distressed Jagdeo told Guyana Times that at about 23:50h, while conversing with her daughter, she heard a loud sound and thought it was gunshot.
“Meh daughter said, ‘Mommy, get up! Something going off like a gunshot,’ and when me get up and peep by the crease, meh see the fire plenty,” the woman recalled.
She explained that she alerted neighbours, and they came out in their numbers to assist in whatever way they could, but unfortunately, nothing was saved from the burning building.
Jagdeo, who operated a small grocery shop at the front of her home, tearfully said she had purchased close to $50,000 in goods, which she had planned to unpack in her shop.
The heat from the burning building caused extensive damage to a nearby house which Jagdeo occupied with her daughter, son and 42-year-old brother. At time of the blaze, her brother and son were not at home.
Jagdeo recalled that on Wednesday evening she had seen wires sparking and had contacted the Guyana Power and Light Inc. to report the matter, but after some time, the sparking had ceased.
Guyana Fire Service Officer in Charge of Operations, Clive Mc Donald, confirmed that the Rose Hall Fire Service had received a report of the fire close to midnight, and without hesitation, fire fighters rushed to the scene. They, however, managed only to curtail the blaze.
An investigation has been launched to determine the cause of the fire.
