A pensioner and two students who are currently sitting the Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate (CSEC) exams are among seven persons who are now homeless following an early Friday morning blaze at Bush Lot, West Coast Berbice, Region Five (Mahaica-Berbice).
That fire destroyed two houses, but residents are of the opinion that the Fire Department could have saved the second building, had their equipment been functioning.
The fire was reportedly seen at about 12:30h on Friday, coming from a house where the four occupants are on vacation, having left earlier in the month. The second building was occupied by a 79-year-old pensioner who suffers from a hearing impediment, and three of her grandchildren. The pensioner’s tenant – a family of three – occupied the lower flat. Nothing was saved from any of the buildings.
Reports are that after the fire was seen at the first building, the pensioner’s teenage grandson alerted his siblings, and urged them to get out of the building.
Seventeen-year-old Bibi Isahack told this publication that she was asleep when her brother broke into her room and woke her up. She said that even though she was not fully awake, she was able to get her 12-year-old brother and her grandmother out of the building.
“I ask him why he chasing me out of the house; allow me to sleep. He said, ‘Girl, get out of the house!’ So, I wake up grandma and I open the door, because he brake the lock, and I go outside in the hallway, and then I feel the heat. And when I look through the window, I see how the place bright, so I thought was we house.”
The teenager said she assisted her grandmother out of the building and ensured that her elder and younger brothers were also out.
“Before I walk out, I remember that the girl living downstairs, and I go and hit down the door and tell her to come out of the house, and she come out. When we go outside and walk at the side, we didn’t see any fire on we house; the fire was on the back house,” she explained.
According to the teenager, the fire started to spread to their house just before the Onverwagt Fire Department arrived. She said it was only a curtain hanging at the window which was in flames when they arrived on the scene. She said firefighters sprayed water on the roof of their house, and after a few seconds, reported that the water had finished.
Video footage of the incident seen by this publication shows firefighters standing in the street with a hose spraying water. The water coming from the hose lasted a few seconds before the pressure dropped significantly, making it impossible for the water to be directed at a location.
“It is then the fire start to catch by the back verandah, on the wood itself; and they just stood there and watched. Persons were shouting at them to use the trench water. So, two men went into the trench and start digging the mud so they could place the pump. When they finish digging, then they tell the two persons in the trench that the pump not working.”
Residents have expressed disappointment at the firefighters from Onverwagt.
One businesswoman who lives next door to the pensioner said one unit from New Amsterdam in Region Six went to their rescue, and the firefighters were prepared for the work at hand.
According to Revina Khemraj, she was awoken by the sounds of loud explosions, and when she looked outside, she saw the burning building.
She said she was able to contact emergency services, and after about forty-five minutes, the Fire Service from the next village, Onverwagt, arrived.
“When they came, it was another situation. By the time they set up the hose, the water that they had on the truck was not enough. The curtain on this pensioner’s house started to catch. At that time, if the Fire Service at that time could have rendered assistance when they came on the scene and they had water, the lady’s house could have been saved.”
Khemraj said she is not pleased with the service they have been receiving from the Fire Department in Region Five, and she made mention of other instances. “They are not doing their job properly. When the fire truck from New Amsterdam came, they had water. They could have gotten water from the canal. Thank you, guys!” she said.
The fire also caused minor damage to two other buildings. Nevertheless, the teenager related that she and her brother are currently sitting the CSEC examinations. This, she added, will have a major setback for them, since all their study materials were destroyed in the blaze.
Regional Parliamentarian Fizal Jaffarally has expressed concern over the action of the Onverwagt Fire Department. Meanwhile, persons willing to assist the family can make contact with them at (592) 681-9017.
