“It was like life flashed before me” – Durban St fire victim

…91-year-old man pulled from blaze by neighbours

A devastating fire that razed a wooden house at Lot 37 Durban Street in Werk-en-Rust, Georgetown on Wednesday morning has left pensioner Eldon Gaskin injured and homeless.

The fire began at around 09:00h, according to witnesses, and quickly spread as it threatened multiple properties. Thankfully, neighbours sprang into action and rescued the 91-year-old
Gaskin, who relies on a cane to walk and has visibility issues.
They pulled him from the burning house, but he suffered burns and is currently receiving medical treatment at a city hospital.
Several other elderly residents were also rescued from nearby homes that were also scorched by the blaze.
“It was like life flashed before me,” one resident said in recounting the escape.
Among those affected was Naudia Gravesande, a resident whose home was scorched in the blaze. Gravesande, who was home on sick leave at the time, described the terrifying moment she realized something was wrong.
“I was relaxing when I started hearing glass shattering,” she recalled. “At first I didn’t think much of it, but it kept happening. I got up, checked my back door, and saw nothing unusual. I went back to rest, but then I decided to peep through the window, and that’s when I saw the house in the alleyway on fire. It was already taken over by flames, and the fire was blowing towards my building.”
Realizing the danger, she said, she quickly called her brother, a fire officer, to alert emergency responders.
“I ran outside, called my brother for help, and then the ambulance and fire trucks arrived. They worked on my building first before tackling the main fire,” she explained.
Not only did the fire destroy Gaskin’s home, but it also scorched three other buildings occupied by elderly persons. In one case, neighbours told <<Guyana Times,>> they had to break down a fence to rescue a 74-year-old woman whose escape route was blocked by flames.
Another pensioner, renting a ground-floor apartment, described how her lights flickered moments before she smelled smoke. Thinking it was a power fluctuation, she said, she turned off her lights, only to discover moments later that a house in front of hers was engulfed in flames.
She said that as she rushed outside, someone called to her from a zinc shed; and with the help of neighbours, she was guided over a fence to safety.
Estimating that damage to her property amounted to approximately $1.5 million, Gravesande has said, “Our water tanks! All three of them, were destroyed. The pipes were damaged and the building was scorched.”
Declaring that this experience has left her emotionally shaken, Gravesande said, “I’ve always heard people say their heart pained, and today I think I felt that for the first time.”
She admitted, “It was really scary. It was like life flashed before you in a split second. I could have lost everything. I was panting for breath, unable to catch myself. It was truly terrifying.”
Firefighters made valiant efforts to contain the inferno, but significant damage had already been done by the time they arrived. Authorities are now investigating the cause of the fire.