Almost four months after her 10-year-old son went missing; a West Berbice mother is now without a home as a fire flattened her one-storey home at D’Edward Village.
Reports are that the Friday afternoon blaze completely destroyed the Lot 23 D’Edward Village building owned by Carla Thomas, a mother of four.
Thomas said she was sitting in church and as she looked through the door, she saw thick smoke coming from the vicinity of her home and rushed out.
The church is situated across the road from where Thomas lived. However, because her house is behind two others, she could not see exactly which building was on fire.
“When I leave and come straight at the back, the whole house was on fire.”
The woman said based on her investigations, a seven-year-old relative caused the inferno after spilling methylated spirit on the bed, which was subsequently lit.
The woman said she initially tried to get water to put out the flames but there was none available.
Carla Thomas standing in front of the debris of her burnt home
Her eight-year-old suffered burns to her legs as she tried to escape from the burning bed.
She said she lost everything, including over $100,000 which she was saving for activities to find her missing son.
On April 18, Thomas and her four children left home and went to Shieldstown, which is two villages away. She wanted some documents from the father of her then-unborn child. She sent her 10-year-old son into the street to collect the documents, which included her national identification card, a clinic card and a bank card.
The 10-year-old boy, Jormin Thomas, has been missing since. He collected the documents but never went back to his mother, who was waiting at the head of the street. CCTV footage showed the boy going towards his stepfather’s home and subsequently leaving the home.
The footage also showed the boy heading towards the direction of his mother but he never arrived to her.
At the time of the incident, Thomas was pregnant. She now has a two-month-old son.
Meanwhile, the self-employed woman is appealing to the public for assistance to rebuild.
“I have nothing, nowhere to sleep, I am just begging my sister to stay here for the time,” Thomas said.
Persons desirous of assisting Thomas can contact her on 708-9344 or via her sister on telephone number (592) 682-4652.
