A single mother and her four children are now homeless after a fire destroyed their home at Yarrowkabra, Linden-Soesdyke Highway.
Ovina Braithwaite lived in the one-storey, two-bedroom wooden structure with her children, aged five, eight, 11 and 13. 
Reports are that the fire erupted at about 18:00h on Tuesday, while the children were making dinner. According to reports, Braithwaite was taking a nap while the children were cooking on a kerosene stove. However, the flames reportedly ignited a nearby curtain, causing the fire.
The woman and her children escaped the burning building, but were unable to save any of their belongings. By the time the Fire Service arrived, the building was already destroyed.
Braithwaite, who has a disability, does not work, this newspaper was told, but uses her public assistance funds to care for herself and her family. Neighbours would often assist her, and already, a pensioner who lives alone in the village has offered shelter to the family until they can get a new home.
Persons desirous of helping the woman and her children can contact a village leader on telephone number (592) 683-2103.
This fire has come two days after a fire at La Grange, West Bank Demerara left a mother and her five children homeless. That fire occurred at Lot 171 Unity Street, and was attributed to an unattended child playing with a lighter, causing a chair to catch fire around 13:45h on a Monday. The affected building, a two-storey wooden-and-concrete structure, was owned by 44-year-old Nigel Douglas, who occupied the top floor. The ground floor was inhabited by 34-year-old Keon Gonsalves and his seven-member family.
The firefighters faced challenges upon arrival at the scene of the fire, as the building was fully engulfed in flames, with the roof already collapsed.
When Guyana Times visited the scene the following day, one of the affected occupants, Erica Lawson, conteted the official report from the Guyana Fire Service. She claimed that at the time of the fire, no one was at home, as her little brother had taken everyone out of the home and had locked the door.
Lawson refuted the notion that the fire was caused by a child playing with a lighter. She asserted that the fire was started in her brother’s bedroom, insinuating the possibility of foul play. (G9)
