A 57-year-old businessman is now battling for his life at the Georgetown Public Hospital (GPHC) after suffering a stroke following a fire that completely gutted his Lot 360 Block 12, Non Pareil East Coast Demerara home.
The fire started at about 20:30h on Friday, leaving Hanuman “Latch” Singh, his wife Leila, two daughters and a grandchild homeless and with millions of dollars in losses.
Businessman, Hanuman Singh
According to information received, neighbours reported seeing smoke emanating from the ceiling of the two-storey building, and quickly raised an alarm. The Guyana Fire Service was summoned immediately, but arrived some 45 minutes later, and took an additional 20 minutes to source water. Nevertheless, the GFS was able to contain the blaze to one building after the Singh’s home had been completely gutted.
Neighbours told Guyana Times there had twice been blackout in the village before the fire, and when power was restored, a spark was seen in the front of the building, after which they began seeing flames which quickly engulfed the Polyvinyl chloride (PVC) ceiling.
Residents in the area also bashed the Fire Service for its poor response time, with one woman lamenting, “Why them come fight fire without water? Them think is play, nah?”
Singh’s daughter, Reshma Singh, told this publication that the family was at their business place in the nearby village of Enterprise, ECD when they received the call just before 21:00h, informing them of the fire.
She said her father took a bicycle and rushed to the scene while she and her mother closed up shop.
Inside the house
“So when them call we and tell we we house on fire, me father rush out. He take a bicycle and rush out and go, and when we left, the whole shop was actually full with people, so we had to send them out and we take a little time. When we come, the whole house inside was already in flames right through, and then the fire reel take a little time to come, and them nah come with water. And by the time they get water, the whole house been already damage. Them couldn’t really save anything,” the visibly distraught woman explained.
She noted that with the exception of a minibus, they were unable to save anything.
She related that when they arrived on the scene her father was nowhere to be seen, and after the fire had been put out, they formed a search party and mounted a search for him, but did not find him.
She said they later received a call that he was found unconscious at the Vlissengen Road entrance to the Botanical Gardens in Georgetown, and that he had been rushed to the GPHC, where he was still unconscious.
“(At) about 10:00hrs, me father brother received a call that he at the (Botanical) Gardens, and the person (was) saying that he is panting for breath. We rushed down and we took like half-hour to reach there; and when we reach, the security guard tell we that they already called an ambulance and rushed him (to the GPHC), and when we come here, this is what we reached. He is not responding to no medication and thing…,” the younger Singh said.
“The doctor said it is a shock and it’s a stroke. He is breathing very shallow, and we had to pay for a CT scan for him. And they couldn’t (do it) because his condition worsened and them rush he back and put he on life support…,” she added.
Doctors related that the man suffered a stroke coupled with low blood pressure, and is currently rejecting all forms of mediation. His breathing is also very shallow, hence the reason for hooking him up to a life support machine.
Singh was placed on a life support machine, and doctors are monitoring him.
The family recently renovated their home and was supposed to move their business from Enterprise to the current location. Also, the family believes that the elder Singh may have walked from Non Pareil to Georgetown while in a daze.
