91-year-old woman among 6 homeless after fire guts Charlotte St houses
The ruins of the house where the fire started
Six persons, including a ninety-one-year-old woman, are now rendered homeless after a late-night fire on Monday completely destroyed two houses at Charlotte Street, Georgetown.
Based on reports received, the fire started at about 21:30h on Monday evening in one of the bedrooms in the upper flat of Lot 167 Charlotte Street and quickly engulfed the house.
The occupants would have lost all their personal belongings along with household items. As such, they are contemplating their next move. Meanwhile, within minutes, the fire engulfed another house located at Lot 166 Charlotte Street.
The owner of the Lot 166 building, Mark D’Aguiar told Guyana Times that he and his family, including his 91-year-old mother, were outside when they saw smoke emanating from their neighbour’s bedroom.
The house during the blaze
“We were outside speaking, and then my neighbour started shouting fire! Fire! And then we ran down at the back, and we saw the neighbour’s bedroom on fire, and it kept going to the front, and by the time it got halfway in the house, it started coming over to our bedroom.”
Speaking from the fire scene, he stated, “It caught the blind, and then it started to do what it was doing. Then, it actually engulfed the whole house, and while it was engulfing that house, the wind was blowing from the east. The breeze started blowing, and as it started blowing, our house started to catch fire.”
The former national basketball player was unable to estimate his losses but noted that it could run into the millions.
“I did get to save a few things like refrigerators, the stove, and a couple of things that were downstairs, but I cannot actually estimate the loss… it is into the millions,” D’Aguiar explained.
It was reported that firefighters arrived at the scene and managed to contain the blaze from spreading to other houses.
Despite tireless efforts by firefighters, D’Aguiar is of the view that more could have been done to save his property.
“They did a really great job, but you know, you must have hiccups, but they did a valuing job, and you know, I cannot discriminate but obviously, your emotions telling you that they should save this and save that but it comes with the territory,” he posited.
Nevertheless, the cause of the fire is still unknown, but officials are continuing their probe. (Shemar Alleyne)
