Blaze destroys C'ville house
--- Fire Service averts major disaster
by Shirwin Campbell
Guyana Chronicle
January 1, 2004
Several trees and a valiant effort by the Guyana Fire Service (GFS) averted a major disaster as fire struck some 26 hours before the year 2003 came to a conclusion.
On Tuesday evening at approximately 22:30 hrs an extended family of thirteen were forced to flee their two storied home at 68 Second Street, Campbellville, after fire broke out in a bedroom in the lower flat.
A woman residing next to the house that was completely gutted informed the Guyana Chronicle that when the fire started they began emptying the contents out of the room that was closest to the fire.
She explained that the trees prevented the fire from spreading to her home.
Guyana Chronicle observed the leaves and branches of the trees on either side of the yard severely scorched, an indication of the intense heat it absorbed during the fire.
The woman was also loud in her praise for the members of the Guyana Fire Service who responded promptly and tried their best to contain the blaze.
She also acknowledged the timely intervention of the technicians from the Guyana Power and Light Company after they disconnected the power supply to the area.
A member of the extended family Nazer Khan noted that the building was a wooden structure and it was also old.
Khan estimated the loss is in the vicinity of $15M but felt that the loss could have been more.
Two buses were also destroyed and a brand new car that he recently purchased.
Khan lauded the work of the fire fighters and expressed his relief that no other house was destroyed in the fire.
Most of the occupants were adults and his nephew had an arch wielding and bodywork workshop on the property.
When queried on what started the fire, he stated that the report he received was that it was done by a relative who is a drug addict. He added that the relative had threatened on several occasion to torch the house and shoot them.
A relative noted that a dog also survived the fire but was burnt in the process. The dog had difficulty keeping its eyes open and kept vigil by the fire yesterday.
Police was on the scene yesterday morning talking to the occupants and neighbours while conducting investigations.
For the year 2003 numerous fires resulted in over a billion dollars in losses and hundreds homeless and jobless.