‘‘I truly believe it was God’s plan, because I usually don’t go to work that early’’

– local heroine recalls the day Mae’s schools burned down

After her heroic and selfless actions helped to ensure no lives were lost in the devastating fire that broke out at Mae’s Schools in Subryanville, Georgetown, on Wednesday morning, Renetta Somersett spoke about her experience of a fire that completely razed the institution, displacing more than 1,000 students and dozens of staff.

In a recent telephone interview on Saturday morning with this publication, Somersett, a member of the janitorial staff, shared her experience of the tragic event when disaster struck, and she made her heroic decisions.
According to Somersett, it was unusual for her to arrive at work so early, but on that particular day, she felt an overwhelming sense of urgency.
“I reached work at 7:49 [AM], and as soon as I got there, I went into the changing room. As soon as I finished changing and was about to start my work, a little child came running to me. The child said, ‘Miss, come see, there’s a little fire in the Grade 4.’ I shouted, ‘Let’s go!’ and we ran upstairs. By the time I reached, the fire was already spreading,” Renetta who is a mother of two children recalled.
As she ran up the stairs, the fire grew more intense, and Somersett could feel the heat with each new step.

“I started smelling the smoke while running up the stairs. I didn’t have time to look at the fire, so I alerted everyone. I even started turning off all the switches while everyone was running downstairs. By the time I had turned off the switches, I was running back downstairs, checking the classrooms.”
While doing this, she doubled back to recheck the classrooms and realised some children did not know about the fire.

“I found some children still in the back of one of the classrooms playing. I asked, ‘What are you all still doing in here?’ and I made them escape while I was checking the other classrooms. By the time I looked outside the school, it looked as if everyone had already made it outside.”
For her final checks, Somersett ran through the daycare and made sure no one was still inside that section.
“I ran through the daycare and started turning off things, and then I went through the nursery to make sure no one was inside. When I went outside and looked upstairs, the entire upper floor was blazing. It was terrifying.”

When asked about the heroic actions she took that day, Somersett said, “It feels really good. Honestly, it’s very emotional, but I feel proud… The fire spread so quickly, and in less than five minutes… it could’ve been something far worse if I hadn’t been there at that time. I truly believe it was God’s plan because I usually don’t go to work that early. But that day, I didn’t work on Tuesday, so I decided to go in early [Wednesday].”
Somersett also credits the young boy who alerted her to the fire, saying that without his quick response, she may never have known about the disaster in time.
The fire, which started just before 8:00h on Wednesday and quickly spread through the wooden-and-concrete buildings, forced a frantic evacuation effort. While no student or staff was harmed, two firefighters were injured while battling the intense blaze.
For her selfless and heroic actions that day, on International Women’s Day (IWD), local fast-food franchise, KFC, honoured and rewarded Renetta Somersett for her bravery.