8 homeless as Amelia’s Ward house goes up in flames

Eight people are now homeless after a fire destroyed their two-storey home at Amelia’s Ward, Mackenzie, Linden, on Tuesday.

The Lot 1987 Central Amelia’s Ward house belonging to Nigel and Simone Anthony went up in flames about 10:00h. None of the occupants were at home at the time of the fire.
Speaking with Guyana Times, one of the occupants of the house noted that he was at work and learnt of the fire after receiving a telephone call. The family was unable to save anything from the house since by the time they arrived home, the entire house was engulfed in flames.
When this publication arrived on the scene, firemen from the Linden Fire Station were present and had the blaze under control.
Neighbours told this publication that by the time they realised that the house was on fire, it was too late to save anything.
“We just see the fire so the only thing we could’ve do was just wait for the fire truck to come. We couldn’t get out any stuff because the fire was already covering the house,” one of the neighbours recalled.
The man noted that the Fire Service responded some 30 minutes after the fire started.
However, Police inquiry revealed that one of the occupants was reportedly sleeping in the veranda of the house when he heard a loud “booming” sound. He then went into the house and saw one of the bedrooms in the upper flat in flames. As such, he quickly ran out of the house and alerted neighbours who summoned the Fire Service.
An investigation has been launched into the incident.