Father of 6 burnt to death in EBD fire

A father of six was burnt to death in the wee hours of Wednesday morning, after he allegedly set his house on fire at Timehri, East Bank Demerara (EBD). The charred remains of 54-year-old Adam Shaw of Lot 18 Timehri Public Road, EBD were pulled from the debris at about 06:30h, some four hours after the fire started.

Shaw, who was an alcoholic, was seen imbibing late Tuesday evening, but went home where he reportedly had a conversation with a few family members before retiring to bed. He lived alone in the house which had no electricity.

However, at about 03:00h, flames were seen emanating from the wooden and concrete structure, followed by loud screams from the man. Relatives made several attempts to get the man out of the burning building, but the grilled doors were padlocked from the inside.

Reports are that Shaw rushed to the grilled doors with the keys to the padlock, but it was too late. At the scene, his son Irfan Shaw, who lives a short distance away from his father’s house told Guyana Times that he received a telephone call from his sister-in-law informing him that his father was trapped in the burning building.

By the time he arrived at the scene, most of the building was already engulfed and he attempted to save his father but to no avail.

“I ask he for the key to take he out the building, he hold on pon me hand and when he go to grab the key, he pull back and throw heself on the ground and that is it,” the devastated son related. He further stated that his father had threatened to set the place alight a few days ago.

He could not recall of any problems the man had with family members and more so, was unable to say why he wanted to set the place alight. He nevertheless confirmed that in 2001 his father set his house on fire. The house was completely destroyed, but after several years it was reconstructed and sold. It is due to this, the aggrieved son stated, that his father moved in with his grandfather. Also speaking with the Guyana Times was Raymond Shaw, the owner of the property and the father of the deceased. He explained that his wife woke him up claiming that the adjoining building was on fire. By the time, they got up and looked out; the building was already in flames. His grandson, Imran Shaw, however, rushed to save his father but the heat was intense, thus his concentration at that time was to save the vehicles that were in the yard.

While doing so, he made several attempts to contact the Guyana Fire Service, but all his calls went unanswered. The elderly man noted that several visiting Pakistani Muslim brothers, who were staying at the Masjid on the other plot of land, rushed over to assist, but again their efforts proved futile.

“The brothers try to hit off the padlock with a brick but it didn’t open…” He added that the house does not have any electricity and could not say the cause of the fire. Upon the discovery of his charred remains, the key to the locks were stuck to one of his fingers.

“The Fire Service, we called them but meh grandson had to go and bring them. When they come they nah had no water… they had to take water from the two reservoirs at the back of the house but by the time they do all of that the house de already burn,” the elder Shaw stated.

The Police were also summoned to the scene and cordoned off the area as they launched an investigation into the cause of the fire. The dead man is survived by his wife, six children, parents and other relatives. (Bhisham Mohamed)