Overheated drop cord leads to Albouystown inferno

A fire that reportedly was started from an overheated drop cord charging a cellphone has destroyed a house at Callender Street in Albouystown, Georgetown, and four persons have been rendered homeless.

The fire reportedly originated in a two-storey, wooden-and-concrete building owned by 63-year-old Angela Gariba at about 7:00h. At the time of the blaze, the upper flat was occupied by the elderly woman and Trevon David, while the bottom flat housed two apartments, one occupied by 69-year-old Clifton Mathara, and the other by an unknown tenant.
Guyana Times understands that after the fire was spotted, the Guyana Fire Service was contacted and two water tenders, a water carrier and 16 firefighters were deployed to the scene. This swift response resulted in the fire being extinguished, but the building suffered severe damage and its contents were destroyed.
The cause of the fire has since been determined as an overheated drop cord that was charging a cellphone reportedly caused a breakdown of insulation, leading to arcing and sparking that ignited nearby combustible materials.

The owner of the building told Guyana Times that she was alerted to the fire by nearby residents, and she wasted no time in running to safety.
“I can’t tell you what caused the fire, but I was lying down and I was smelling the smoke. Because I know people burn copper around the area, I didn’t think that it was my house on fire. Is meh neighbours who ran out and alert me of the fire, and ah run out the house,” she detailed.
She highlighted that while running to safety, she attempted to rescue her two dogs, and sustained minor burns to her forehead as a consequence.
“A little bit around 20-to- 7, quarter-to-7 that’s when I got the alarm. Fire Service came on the scene a little bit after, but other people were trying to help throw water to out the fire, but the fire was going too fast,” she told reporters.