Venezuelan national perishes after fire razes Plantain Walk house

Venezuelan national Richard José has perished after a fire of unknown origin ravaged the top flat of a building at Plantain Walk, West Bank Demerara (WBD).
That building, according to reports, had been owned by 68-year-old Bernadette Gordon, and she had been occupying same along with 27-year-old Canaan Bacchus.
The Guyana Fire Service has said it received a distress call just after 3:31h on Friday, and firefighters from the La Grange Fire Station, along with a water tender and a water carrier, were dispatched to the scene.
Upon arrival, they observed the two-storey building on fire, with the upper flat fully engulfed in flames. The firefighters managed to contain the blaze to the first floor, and to minimize threats to nearby buildings.
As a result of the fire, the first floor of the building was destroyed; and the 47-year-old Richard José, a carpenter, perished therein.
Two houses – Lot G 11/3 and Lot H 11 Plantain Walk, Pouderoyen, WBD – were also damaged by heat radiating from the building on fire.
This resulted in several windows on both houses being destroyed, and a section of the southern external wooden wall on the first floor of the second building being slightly damaged. Further, the rear lights of motorcar PYY 3553 were destroyed by the radiated heat.
Fire prevention officers continue to investigate the deadly fire, to determine the cause of the blaze.

Owner of the property, Bernadette Gordon, only recently returned from abroad to oversee repairs to the house. She told reporters that she noticed her house was on fire while she was going to use the washroom, and she immediately tried to evacuate. At the time, she noted, José had planned to stay overnight to complete carpentry work on the property.
Efforts to rescue the man proved futile, as the intense heat and smoke hindered those efforts. Eyewitnesses said desperate attempts had been made to rescue José, and he became trapped due to a mixture of air and power which created a vacuum.
While the cause of the fire remains unknown, Gordon told reporters about a recent legal dispute within her family. She said she had obtained a restraining order against her sister, who had allegedly threatened to burn down her property. She said tensions had escalated at an annual year-end event over disagreements about the three houses in the compound.
A few days ago, 43-year-old Tookant Deokharan, a teacher attached to the Berbice Islamic School, perished after a fire destroyed two houses at Managers’ Quarters, Port Mourant, Region Six (East Berbice-Corentyne).
Deokarran’s charred remains were discovered at about midnight, close to a door amid debris at the Lot 24 Managers’ Compound, Port Mourant house. He had reportedly lived alone in the one-storey building which was owned by an overseas-based Guyanese.
Deokarran, who had had difficulty walking because of an injury to his right knee, had spent the day at a cousin’s home, where he had had lunch and had taken a nap before leaving to go and provide home tutoring to two 13-year-olds at Fyrish Village. He had last been seen alive at about 17:00h on Tuesday. That fire had reportedly started at about 22:00h.