ECD family cries for help after home allegedly set on fire

– suspected arsonist remains at large

A quiet night turned into a nightmare for a family of 13 when their East Coast Demerara (ECD) home was set on fire on Monday evening.
The family, who narrowly escaped the fire, is now desperately seeking answers, pointing fingers at a suspect who they believe is responsible for the incident. The fire incident occurred at around 21:00h at Ann’s Grove, ECD.
The family of 13, including four children, was abruptly awakened by crackling sounds.
Guyana Times was informed that the occupants of the house had to jump from the veranda of the upper flat of their two-storey concrete home to escape the blaze. One of the occupants, in an interview with a known personality, explained the horrific experience.
“I was sleeping and I heard a hollering. When I open my eyes, I see my room dark so I get up off of my bed and go outside. That’s when I see the whole house in smoke so I run back to the room and grabbed my three children and I just jump down the veranda because that was the only way we could have escaped the fire. The fire burned down the step,” she related.
Suspicion quickly fell upon the property owner’s ex-son-in-law, a man notorious for his ongoing disputes with the family. Eyewitness accounts supported this suspicion, with several individuals claiming to have seen the alleged suspect near the house shortly before the fire erupted.
The family is claiming that the man allegedly lit the house on fire because the mother of his children ended their relationship.
“The person is my daughter’s children’s father [who lit the house on fire]. One time I was in my bed, and he came here [at the house] at 12:00am and he was cursing up. I told him that he can’t be coming at my house and behave like that. The next morning, I went and make a report at the station. Nothing we do we not getting justice because he said he has a Police brother,” the occupant further explained.
Emergency services swiftly responded to the distress call, managing to extinguish the blaze. However, the family expressed deep concern and frustration, revealing that the man in question was neither apprehended nor questioned by the authorities.
They also revealed that this incident was not the first time their family or the mother of his children has been targeted.
“This is not the first time he is doing this to the family. I had to rescue his child mother one time. She was on the road coming from work, and he hide in a bush and attack her. She dropped her bag and run home… we had to take her to the station. Since the incident, nobody. We want justice”, another occupant of the home said.
As the investigation into the attack unfolds, the family remains on edge, anxiously awaiting answers. Their hope is that a thorough investigation is launched and that the alleged suspect is apprehended.