9 homeless after CWC fire

Nine people are now homeless after a two-storey house went up in flames at Crabwood Creek on Thursday. Among those now homeless are seven children.
The fire reportedly destroyed a wooden and concrete house at Grant 1804, Crabwood Creek, Corentyne. At the time of the inferno, Sheneza Yussuf and her seven children were at home.

She recalled sitting in a hammock under the house when her 15-year-old informed her that something was burning.
However, the mother initially suggested that garbage was being burnt at a makeshift dump site in the area, but her son pointed out that no smoke was seen coming from that area.
This prompted her to venture to the upper flat, where she discovered smoke coming from the circuit box.
“I go up, the room at the front here, there the fuse box, just me look up… The fire was there at the fuse box, and the fire was coming down so fast that I just tell my kids to run, because the fire was upstairs. I didn’t get to save nothing; just a couple of papers, that’s all,” she revealed.
According to the 41-year-old mother, she and her husband had been occupying the house for the past eight years.
At the time, her husband, a construction worker, was not at work.
Among the things destroyed were school items, including clothing for the five children.

“Washer and dryer machine, microwave, freezer, fridge, TV, gas stove, microwave, computer, jewelry, but I can’t really tell, I got much more, so much clothes, I didn’t [save any] clothes, all my clothes are gone… All my children school items destroyed, bag, books, everything. Nothing, nothing, I didn’t get to save.”
Speaking about her children, Yussuf said her eldest daughter is 15 and should be sitting CXC next year, while her eldest son is 14 years old.
“My son is in 4th form (grade 10). he is studying; he is following business and my daughter is in art class.”
“This is the first time in my whole life I witnessed this. My son he is a heart case, I am a cancer patient. I am in cancer right now, doing chemo. I have colon cancer. My son has two holes in his heart, but one hole he left, he has Down syndrome and a heart problem… All my son’s paper, my doctor’s paper, all gone,” the visibly traumatised mother said.
The fire also destroyed two bicycles belonging to the family and a third, which a relative had left in the yard, bracing against the front fence.
“And then my husband’s tools, lots of tools he bought only last year,” Yussuf continued.
Apart from being a road construction worker, 35-year-old Farhaad Bacchus also does carpentry. He told this publication that he was at work when he received a telephone call informing him that his home was on fire.
“When I come, everything already finished,” he said.
Meanwhile, one unit from the Skeldon Fire Service arrived at the scene, but by the time it did, the building was already engulfed. However, they were able to contain the fire and prevent it from spreading to nearby buildings.
Meanwhile, persons who wish to assist the family can do so by contacting them at 603-5452 or 625-3609.