A pensioner of New Amsterdam, Region Six (East Berbice-Corentyne), is now dead after his house went up in flames on Sunday evening.
Dead is 67-year-old Martin Lindy, a former boat captain with the now-defunct Berbice Mining Enterprise.
The fire erupted at around 22:00h at Trinity Street, New Amsterdam.
While investigators are still probing the origin of the blaze, family members of Lindy have not ruled out suicide or foul play.
Lindy was living alone at the time.
According to one neighbour, she heard him called to her and telling her that there was a fire and to take her children and leave the building. The neighbour said she complied but returned to her house to pick up valuable documents and was told by Lindy again to leave her building. The two buildings are situated a few feet apart.
The neighbour said it was then she saw smoke billowing into the air and called the Fire Department which responded promptly.
However, the neighbour claimed that while she was informing the firemen that someone was in the building, the officials – who were already engaged in firefighting – were arguing between themselves as to whether they should break into the building. One argued that since no Police Officer was at the scene they should not break into the building.
A senior Fire Officer subsequently arrived on the scene and got instruments to break in.
The house at Trinity Street, New Amsterdam, on fire
Lindy’s body was seen lying a short distance from the door. He was taken to the New Amsterdam Hospital where he was pronounced dead on arrival.
Initial investigations revealed that the fire may have started in one of the bedrooms. Investigators have also discovered that several pieces of electrical devices were plugged in and have not ruled out the nature of the fire as being electrical.
Only recently Lindy was admitted as a patient at the New Amsterdam Hospital for ingestion of a poisonous substance.
According to one neighbour, the pensioner had claimed that he picked a fruit from the yard which had a chemical on it. However, his cousin-in-law Nicola Luther, who is also his attorney-in-fact told this publication that the man’s wife had left the chemical in the refrigerator and he accidentally consumed it.
The couple was recently divorced and is before the court for division of property.
Luther said Lindy had been in constant contact with her and reported all of the challenges he was facing.
Among them was that his wife had put padlocks denying him access to the lower flat of the building and had refused his requests to reconcile.
She also shared several voice notes the now dead man sent to her.
“My wife bring a divorce paper and give me and I never see her back,” one of the voice notes from Lindy said.
“When the firemen open the door, it is right there they saw him on the floor and he did not have on any shirt, so apparently he was sleeping.”
Persons reported seeing Lindy going home about one hour prior to the inferno.
Asked about the reported attempt at suicide, she said that he told her a story which he repeated to a probation officer.
Acceding to her, the officer claimed that Lindy told her he deliberately ingested the poison but when she was there Lindy said at the time he was disoriented and had no recollection of meeting the officer and held out that the story he was then presenting is what transpired.
Nevertheless, Joan DeCuna Lindy told reporters that she was out of town when she received information that her house was on fire.
She said she had no idea what had transpired.
An investigation has been launched. (G4)
