Early morning fire: Family of 10 kicks down door to escape

A family of 10 is contemplating its next move after an early morning fire demolished the family’s Guyhoc Park, Georgetown home on Saturday.
Reports are that family members were awakened from their slumber after a flickering light had been observed at about 03:30h at the Lot 85 Guyhoc Park house.
Mother of eight, 35-year-old Natasha Cadogan, related to Guyana Times that one of her daughters alerted her that fire was coming from the rear section of the two-storey house. As checks were made, it was discovered that the kitchen area was engulfed in flames.
“My daughter went sitting in the back room, and then we jump up and then go out and see the fire in the kitchen,” Cadogan said in tears.
She explained that the fire spread quickly to other sections of the wooden-and-concrete house.
To avoid getting injured, the woman and her seven children had to make their way to safety by breaking through the back door.
“From the kitchen, we go to out it, but it run straight in the bedroom, and then everything start happening. They couldn’t get to come out the house. They had to kick down the back door, and then everybody run out,” the distraught Cadogan stated.
When this publication arrived at the scene, the entire house had already been gutted by the fire. The homeless family members are seeking shelter at a neighbour’s home. The only things that survived the fire were a detached concrete shed in front of the burnt building, some clothes that were left to dry in the sun, and the flooring of the burnt building.
In tears, Cadogan confided that she would have lost everything in the blaze, and her losses are estimated in the millions. While tumbling through the debris, she found some gold jewellery and some of her husband’s clothes.
She told this publication that she cannot say what may have caused the fire, since the stove and all electrical items had been turned off. She said her husband was at work at the time of the fire.
“We does turn off all we lights them at night…Nothing left on in the kitchen,” she declared.
One of her daughters mentioned that the family had been occupying the building for about 15 years. She said she is grateful to neighbours and bystanders who assisted and also called the Guyana Fire Service (GFS). She, however, noted that the Fire Service had taken some time to arrive on scene.
However, sources have confirmed that the firefighters have found an illegal wire connected to a utility post in front of the yard. Investigations are continuing.