Mid-afternoon fire guts North Ruimveldt apartment building

More than 10 persons are forced to make alternative living arrangements following a devastating fire at an apartment complex in North Ruimveldt, Georgetown on Monday.

The fire which reportedly started sometime after 15:00h has left the occupants in distress as to their next move. When the Guyana Times arrived at the scene, several household items including sofas and electrical appliances lined the roadway.
One of the occupants Terrance Garles stated that he first observed the fire and immediately alerted the others.
“I live in the second half, when the fire began, I started to smell smoke then I saw smoke seeping through the sink, so I automatically knew it was coming from the other side. After I realised what was going on I immediately went and notified all of the residents in the second half of the building, and then I went back to the first half of the building where the fire was already intense to make sure everybody got out,” he recalled.
Moreover, he expressed his dissatisfaction with the response by the Guyana Fire Service (GFS). He noted that after alerting authorities about the situation, it took more than 15 minutes for the fire tenders to arrive at the location.
“What is sad about this whole thing is from the initial call we waited approximately 20 minutes for the fire service to come. When they came the fire truck only had about two buckets of water in the truck. So as soon as they put on the hose a load of water shoots out and that was it” he stated.
Meanwhile, several of the tenants expressed concern about the lack of empathy reportedly shown by the landlord. One resident stated “He don’t care about us, now he gone come to ask for rent, he don’t care about people”
According to information received, the fire was allegedly started by children playing with matches which led to a mattress being ignited. The GFS has not released any information about the blaze.