The fire on Wednesday evening that destroyed two Princes Street dwellings was caused after a generator exhaust overheated and caused a mattress to combust, a source has confirmed.
The source who is knowledgeable of the findings told Stabroek News yesterday that the Guyana Fire Service had completed its investigations which found that a mattress was left next to the generator and the exhaust overheated.
“The generator exhaust [tail pipe] overheated and caught on the mattress after which the fire quickly razed through the two houses,” the source said.
Around 6.30 pm on Wednesday, a fire completely destroyed two Princes Street, Georgetown homes, which were located close to each other leaving one dozen persons including three children homeless. Firefighters, however, managed to prevent the fire from spreading to nearby buildings.
An occupant of one of the houses, Clifton Moseley, had related to this newspaper that he was on his way home when he noticed thick smoke in the vicinity of his home. He said he later saw a crowd before learning that it was his house which was on fire.
The man related that his family was unable to save anything from the house they had been occupying for the past ten years.
His wife, Gloria Barry, was at home when the fire started. She had just exited the house to fill a bucket of water when she noticed smoke and raised an alarm.
A resident related that he was proceeding along the road when he heard a loud explosion. “It sound really hard and I know something wasn’t right,” he said. The man added that he then noticed two children run onto the roadway, screaming that their house was on fire. Persons in the area had started forming bucket brigades and he assisted.
The Ministry of Social Protection on Friday presented the two families with relief packages. Among the items that were given to the victims were mattresses, cooking utensils and food vouchers.
Over the past two weeks, there have been about eight fires which destroyed several homes and resulted in the loss of three lives, including a one-year-old child.
