Mid-morning blaze ravages 3 houses in East La Penitence
A devastating fire which occurred at East La Penitence, Georgetown on Saturday at about 10:00h has destroyed three houses and left several people homeless
The fire is suspected to have been started by a man of unsound mind, whose house was among those gutted by the mid-morning blaze.
When Guyana Times arrived on the scene, Ruby French, one of the occupants whose homes were destroyed, recounted her harrowing experience. French said she was asleep when the smell of smoke woke her. Upon looking outside, she saw smoke emanating from the house of her neighbour, a man of unsound mind, and she quickly alerted everyone in her household, and they all evacuated the house. Within minutes, her home and the two other neighbouring houses were engulfed in flames. The Fire Service was summoned, but unfortunately could not save the homes.
“I don’t know what to do! I don’t even know where I will sleep! This is very difficult!” the woman said in exasperation.
French and the four other occupants of her house have lost everything in the blaze. She estimates her losses to be in the millions.
Meanwhile, witnesses have said this is not the first incident involving this man, since on multiple occasions residents have had to extinguish fires started in his house. The man has since been arrested, and an investigation into the cause of the fire has been launched.