A poultry farmer and his wife are now counting their losses after a fire of unknown cause razed their home at Liverpool, Corentyne Berbice on Thursday.
The fire reportedly started at about 8:30h, and completely destroyed the two-bedroom wooden-and-concrete home.
The aftermath of the fire
The house was occupied by 39-year-old Norman Thom, who is attached to Albion Estate and is a contractor with the Region Six Administration. Thom’s wife is 26-year-old Denicea Solomon-Thom, a student of the New Amsterdam Nursing School. The couple also operates a small poultry business at their home.
At the time of the devastating fire, neither of them was not at home. According to Thom, he was on his way to work when he received news that his house was on fire.
“When I meet home, this is what I come and reach,” Thom said as he pointed to the gutted building. “Everything bun down; the only thing they manage to save was the car,” he added.
Thom related that before leaving home, they ensure all electrical appliances are unplugged.
The fire reportedly started in one of the bedrooms, but according to the man, “The place where the fire started is only clothes alone inside the room. The fire started in the front room.”
The contractor also stated that several cheques have been destroyed in the fire.
“I just collect cheques from the Region, and everything burn up. These is the clothes that I wear to go to work this morning, and this is all I get now.” The estate worker has said he is currently unable to estimate his losses.
Meanwhile, during the fire, his poultry pen was looted, adding to the losses the couple have suffered.
“When I go at the back, where the fowl farm is, I only see a couple [few] layers and one fowl running in the garden out of about one hundred meat birds.”
According to Thom, he had an order for chicken that had to be delivered on Friday. “I heard that people were running out the yard with bags,” he said.
The fire, he explained, destroyed a lifetime of savings. By the time the fire engines arrived at the scene, the house was completely engulfed.
Thom is asking for the public’s assistance to rebuild. He can be reached by telephone number 697-2324.
