Deadly Berbice fire: 9-year-old escapes fire as uncle battled flames to save trapped father

A nine-year-old boy escaped through a window of his burning home at Kilcoy Squatting Area, Corentyne, Region Six (East Berbice-Corentyne), on Sunday evening, but his 45-year-old father perished despite desperate attempts by his younger brother to rescue him from the flames.

Dead is Tansingh Rampersaud, whose charred remains were discovered after firefighters extinguished the blaze that engulfed his home. The tragedy unfolded after the child reportedly tried unsuccessfully to awaken his father as fire spread through the bedroom. He subsequently escaped and ran to alert relatives.
The deceased’s younger brother, 40-year-old Cheenarine Ramnarine, said the boy rushed to his grandmother, 74-year-old Jumattie Rampersaud, and his uncle, telling them that his father’s house was on fire.
According to Ramnarine, his nephew related that an electric fan had been operating in the bedroom when it began sparking. The child reportedly said sparks from the fan ignited the bed on which his father was sleeping.
The boy told his relatives that he had attempted to wake his father but was unable to get a response and he escaped through a window.
Ramnarine said he immediately rushed to his brother’s residence, hoping to reach him before the fire spread further.
However, by the time he arrived, flames were already consuming sections of the building.
He first attempted to gain access through a window, using a brick to break it in the hope of reaching his trapped brother.
“I took a brick, and I knocked on the window,” Ramnarine recalled, explaining that flames surged through the opening and forced him backwards.
He said the intensity of the fire prevented him from getting close enough to enter, but he refused to abandon his efforts to reach his brother.
Ramnarine subsequently moved to another section of the house and attempted to gain access through a doorway but encountered security grills.
“But the fire was too big, and I couldn’t get in. So, when the fire started, I couldn’t do anything,” Ramnarine recalled.
He said the heat eventually became unbearable, leaving him with no choice but to retreat.
According to the Guyana Fire Service (GFS), firefighters responded to a fire and upon arrival, they found the building completely engulfed in flames.

Firefighters were informed that one occupant was missing. After extinguishing the blaze, they searched the building and discovered the charred remains of 45-year-old Rampersaud. The Fire Service indicated that investigations were ongoing to determine the origin and cause of the fire.

Mother’s visit
Speaking with this publication, Jumattie Rampersaud recalled visiting her son on Sunday afternoon.
She said that when she arrived, she found him asleep in bed. After he awoke, they spoke, and she questioned him about his drinking.
According to the grieving mother, her son promised her that he would stop drinking, telling her that he had recently received some money and used it to settle outstanding debts at several shops where he had previously obtained alcohol on credit.
She said that she had repeatedly encouraged him to give up drinking and was concerned about his well-being.
Following their conversation, she said she returned home, unaware that it would be the last time she would see her son alive.
The elderly woman described her son as someone she cared deeply about, explaining that she made it her responsibility to visit him even when he did not come to see her. This publication was told that the child’s mother died when he was two-years-old and he has now lost his father.
An investigation has been launched.