Swift response by the neighbours of Shanta Moonsammy prevented her Wellington Park, Corentyne building from going up in flames on Saturday evening.
Reports are that smoke was seen emanating from the building shortly after 21:00h on Saturday. The owner has been gone overseas for several years, and the caretaker had been away for the weekend.
The Wellington Park house where the fire took place
According to Chanderdat Moonsammy, who lives two houses away, when he was alerted to the situation, he took an axe and chopped the grill door open, then kicked open the front door. “When the door open is sheer smoke pouring out; you can’t see anything inside,” he explained.
Moonsammy said he and several other villagers braved the smoke and went into the building. However, from outside of the building, it was noticed that the windows in the sitting room were broken and flames were visible. They quickly formed a bucket brigade to combat the fire.
“We start throwing water right there, from through the window,” one eyewitness said.
Moonsammy said that as the bucket brigade went into operation, the smoke inside the house started to clear up. “Then we see that is two chairs burning.”
He said they were able to put out the blaze, but were forced to remove zinc sheets to throw water onto the ceiling.
“We had to throw water up there, because it started to catch; and when the water drip down from there, it boiling. So we had to open and throw water till it cool off, and when the Fire Service come, we already finish,” he detailed.
Moonsammy noted that a unit from the Rose Hall Town Fire Service arrived shortly after the Police had arrived.
“By they get plenty people on the road, the Police stop, and then the Fire Service come and they say is not for them, and they go away,” he detailed.
This publication was shown a window situated at the back of the building, where four bolts were removed and the grill tossed aside. One of the panes had a hole.
According to the caretaker, Latchmi Madramootoo, someone had broken into the building and set the fire. The strong smell of kerosene oil pervaded the building on Sunday when Guyana Times visited.
This publication was shown a dining table with burns on its surface. “They light the fire on this table and put the tablecloth to burn, but it out; is only the one in the chair catch,” Moonsammy related.
Madramootoo told this publication that when she left the building on Tuesday, she had secured it and everything was intact. She explained that all she had in the building were clothing, all of the household items belonged to her cousin. “We did not have anything like money of jewelry in the house,” she said.
The Fire Service has since launched an investigation.
