Two persons are now homeless after a fire, which is believed to be electrical in origin, gutted an apartment building at Corriverton on Saturday evening.
Smoke was seen coming from the back of the three-apartment, one-storey concrete building at Lot 81 Rahaman Street, Corriverton, shortly after 20:00h.
According to reports, no one was in the apartment, which was occupied by a teenaged couple, when the fire started. The quick response of residents prevented the fire from spreading. The other two apartments which were saved were occupied by four persons.
Part of the gutted apartment
According to Melissa Soknandan, 19, she had just locked the door and gone to the front of the yard when she was alerted that smoke was coming from her apartment. She told Guyana Times that she went to the front of the yard to see if her husband, Raj Ramnarine, 19, was on his way home from work.
The young lady explained that as she rushed to the apartment, two men broke in and began to douse the blaze.
Raj Ramnarine, 19, who lost everything in the fire
“When I run inside mi fren hold me from me hair and pull me back, so me can’t get to save anything, so all me thing bun up,” the young woman said in tears.
The teenager noted that apart from the furnishings in the apartment, she also lost all of her clothing. On Sunday, when this publication visited the scene, the woman explained that she was wearing clothing, which was given to her by a friend.
Residents explained that they did not know a telephone number for the Springlands Fire Station, which is located about three minutes away, so they were unable to alert the firemen stationed there. They, however, called the Guyana Fire Service in Georgetown. The Springlands Fire Station, along with the Rose Hall Fire Station, which is 30 miles away, and the New Amsterdam Fire Station, some 50 miles away, were all alerted and responded.
Melissa Sooknanand, homeless at 19
Meanwhile, Mahatam Sookram broke into the burning building with the aim of putting out the fire which was quickly spreading across the interior of the house. He explained that after his friend got in through a window, he broke a pipeline leading to a water tank to get water.
“Each house have one, one tank, so we help out one another and use pail and take the water and out the fire. When the Fire Service come, the fire did already out.”
Sookram went into the burning house with the experience he gained two weeks prior when a building across the street was on fire.
On that occasion, fire was seen coming from the upper flat of a two-storey building. Three adults and two children were in the building at the time. Their concern was grabbing some of their personal belongings from the burning building.
Sookram and his friend were on hand and went into operation, as other neighbours joined in. By the time the Fire Service arrived, the blaze had already been extinguished.
There was no damage to the lower flat, and the occupants continued to live in the upper flat until Friday, when the landlord asked them to remove.
Meanwhile, Ramnarine, a chain boy attached to the Skeldon Sugar Estate, told <<<Guyana Times>>> that when he arrived home on Saturday, it was all over. According to him, he was at a friend’s house when his wife came and told him what had happened.
“When I ask she, she say some fuse box did sparking over the TV and drop on the TV and catch afire…”
The young couple are hoping that they will be able to get their lives back together within a short period of time.
Anyone who wishes to assist can contact them on 685-4184.
