Elderly trio homeless after fire destroys Louisa Row houses
A fire of unknown origin swept through three houses at Louisa Row, Georgetown in the wee hours of Tuesday thus leaving three elderly persons without a roof over their heads.
Leroy Sumner examining the aftermath of the fire
The houses were owned by 69-year-old Leroy Sumner who not only had to deal with the losses incurred as a result of the fire but also made alternative living arrangements for himself.
Sumner occupied one of the buildings while his brother, Patrick Sumner occupied another and 65-year-old Yvette Prescott occupied the third.
Speaking with the Guyana Times, the elderly man recalled feeling an intense heat permeating from one of the houses in the yard.
“I got up, and I noticed that a very hot, hot heat was penetrating this building that I’m in. And when I looked out, I noticed that there was a fire in one of the buildings occupied by a tenant,” he said.
The landlord shared that he tried desperately to contain the blaze by using buckets of water until the fire tenders arrived at the scene. Despite their swift response, the fire consumed all three houses, leaving no room for the tenants and landlord to salvage any personal or household items.
“So, I went out with buckets and tried to do my best, you know, but the fire was real high. I don’t know if it’s a planned fire…but the fire spread real fast and destroyed the buildings,” he said.
In total, he added that all of the damages to the buildings amounted to about $7 million.
“She (the tenant) had stuff like a bed, stove, gas stove, you know, tables, refrigerator, television, and that was it…I would say about seven million in damages lost, you know.”
When asked about his next move, he stated that he is currently trying to clean up the place and is heading to sleep somewhere close by.
“So I’m back here, I gotta go up there and see how best I can, you know, do something and I know I gotta do some cleaning and then that’s it. I have to see if any of these rooms are good for me to stay, and that’s it,” he explained looking for his next dwelling place.
