Upper flat of Republic Park house gutted by fire

A fire of unknown origin on Friday completely gutted the inside of the upper flat of a two-storey Republic Park, East Bank Demerara (EBD) building.

The Lot 461 Phase Two Republic Park home is owned by an overseas-based Guyanese but was rented to a mother of two.

The family, according to residents, only moved into the neighbourhood about three weeks ago.

This publication was told that persons in the neighbourhood smelt something burning and upon investigating, realised smoke was emanating from the wooden ceiling of one of the rooms of the home.

The Guyana Fire Service (GFS) was called to the scene and their fast response contributed to the lower flat of the building being saved.

This publication understands that some construction workers assisted fire fighters in extinguishing the fire.

Additionally, fire fighters were forced to break the door of the house since no one was at home at the time of the incident.

It is still unknown how the fire started.

Officials of the Guyana Fire Service have launched an investigation into the incident.