“I could have burned up” – Palmyra woman home gutted by fire, suspects arson

A 39-year-old woman is counting her blessings after narrowly escaping what could have been a fatal house fire that destroyed almost everything she owned just minutes after she left home. Ayana Johnson believes the blaze that gutted the two-storey house she had called home for more than five years may have been deliberately set. Johnson, the lone occupant of the building at Lot 22 Palmyra, Region Six, recalled returning home from work on Tuesday afternoon, changing out of her work clothes and leaving shortly afterwards to visit a friend.

She said she spent only a few minutes inside the house before leaving on her motorcycle. As she was leaving, Johnson said she noticed workers attached to the Guyana Power and Light (GPL) carrying out electrical work on a utility pole in front of the house. While returning, Johnson said she noticed fire tenders speeding through the area but did not imagine they were responding to an emergency at her own home. “I was watching up in the air. I see where the smoke coming from and I was wondering what was really going on,” she recalled.
It was only after turning into her street and seeing the heavy traffic and gathering of people that she realised that her house was on fire. “When I came to the entrance, I realised, this is my place.” Still shaken by the ordeal, Johnson said the thought that continues to haunt her is how close she came to losing her life.
“I just come home. I could have come home and gone to sleep. I could have gone to sleep and get burned up in the fire,” she said. She also believes someone could have gained access to the building from the rear. Johnson pointed out that behind the property is a vacant lot leading to the public road and that a window on the lower flat of the building could be easily accessed from that area.

She said the fire reportedly started at the back of the building, leading her to suspect that the blaze may have been deliberately set. The blaze destroyed nearly all of her possessions, including bedroom furniture, wardrobes, a vanity, chairs, a television, music system, refrigerator, washing machine, microwave, gas stove, electric kettle, toaster and other household items.
Unable to estimate the value of her losses, Johnson said everything she had worked to acquire over the past five years and five months was reduced to ashes in a matter of minutes. Police and fire officials are continuing their investigations into the fire.