A retired headmaster and his family were left homeless yesterday morning after their two-storey Affiance, Essequibo Coast home was destroyed by a fire of unknown origins.

The upper wooden flat of the house was completed destroyed while just pillars and slabs of the concrete wall remain of the lower flat.

Sudeshwar Ragunauth and his wife, Takoordeen, lived there with their daughter. According to a neighbour of the Ragunauths at about 8 am yesterday she smelt “something burning” and upon investigating discovered smoke coming from the upper flat of the Ragunauths’ home.

The woman told this newspaper that at the time Takoordeen and her daughter were having breakfast and she alerted them to the fire.

Takoordeen explained to Stabroek News that after her neighbour alerted her she went upstairs and discovered the middle of her three bedrooms engulfed in flames. She said that she attempted to retrieve her money and other valuables from the room beyond but could not gain entry because of the heat.

According to Takoordeen the Fire Service was alerted but did not arrive until 30 minutes after.

By that time, she said, the fire had already devoured approximately 50% of the house. Takoordeen said that she was informed by the Fire Service that they took some time to respond because they got many prank calls and were not sure that there really was a fire.

The Fire Service, along with public-spirited residents who formed a bucket brigade, was not able to save much of the house. Minus the minor burns, sustained by Seema during  attempts to save some of the furniture, no one was injured. (Dianne Gonsalves)