a fire, which was allegedly set by a mentally ill man, completely gutted an Agricola home in the wee hours of Wednesday morning.
The fire was detected at about 02:15h in the upper flat of the two-storey wooden and concrete structure located at Lot 20 Agricola Public Road, Greater Georgetown.
The building was occupied by Carletta Cupidore and her brother Carl James, who suffers from mental illness. According to reports received, this is the second time the mentally ill man has set the house – which the brother and sister inherited from their parents – on fire.
On the first occasion, the blaze was extinguished but this time; it gutted the home, leaving the occupants
The completely gutted house
homeless.
Cupidore when contacted by Guyana Times said that she was not at home at the time of the fire but after being informed, she rushed to the scene only to see the house engulfed in flames.
She noted that due to her brother’s reluctance to allow people in the house to assist, they were unable to salvage any household items. She also explained that she has been living at the address all her life and it was hard to see the house she inherited from her mother go up in flames.
However, she noted that her brother is being questioned by the Police and has been sent for a psychiatric evaluation.
At the scene on Wednesday morning, a neighbor explained that after the fire was detected, they rushed to render assistance but the mentally ill man stood guard at the door and did not allow anyone to gain access into the house.
“He stand up shouting that he don’t want anyone in he mother house… when we tell he that the house was on fire, he hold out…” the man related.
He noted that the fire started in one of the bedrooms and quickly caught on the PVC ceiling. By this time, he
The charred inside of the house
added, the entire house was engulfed in flames.
The mentally ill man reportedly ran towards the Agricola Police Outpost where he turned himself in, admitting that it was he who started the fire because he was unhappy that his sister was seeing someone.
The man further stated that the woman was recently assaulted by the man but she endured the pains without reporting him. He further stated that she would have suffered a broken arm.
Meanwhile, Neville, another neighbour who was affected by the fire related that as soon as the fire was detected, his son-in-law drove to Houston and alerted the firefighters who were at Gafoors but by the time they arrived at the scene, the upper flat of the house was already destroyed.
Nevertheless, he noted that due to the heat, two of his minibuses were damaged. He said that he had to park one on the public road in order to save it. He noted that the mentally ill man tried numerous times to destroy the house.
“One time he break a window and start pelting people with the glass… he even went on the road and start pelt vehicles as they passed on the road,” Neville stated.
He also noted that the man is a nuisance and was also locked up a few times by the Police. The Police and fire officials are investigating the circumstances surrounding the origin of the fire.
On Monday last, a woman allegedly of unsound mind set an apartment building in Shell Road, Kitty, on fire following a domestic dispute with her reputed husband.
