Fire last night totally destroyed a D’urban Street house leaving several persons homeless and millions of dollars in damage to a nearby building.
The wooden building located at Lot 24 D’urban Street went up in flames at around 10:30pm but it is not clear what triggered the blaze.
According to neighbor, Errol Phillips, owner of Apex Printery, the top flat of the house was empty while two families occupied two apartments in the bottom flat.
Phillips, who lives behind his printery, said he was alerted to the blaze by a boy who lives in the house but by then the building was already engulfed. He said a young mother was forced to run out of the building in a state of undress. Stabroek News was unable t o speak to any of the occupants of the home but it is understood that about ten persons are now homeless.
While members of the Guyana Fire Service were successful in containing the blaze the window panes of Phillips’ building were damaged by the fire while his entire business place was waterlogged. The man said his machines were damaged and he estimates millions of dollars in losses.
Phillips said from all indications the fire started in the top flat and he explained that while no one is supposed to be living in the top flat recently he observed that a man may have been illegally occupying the building.
“I call the police and tell them somebody living there but they never come,” the man said.
When the Stabroek News arrived on the scene about half an hour after the blaze started firemen were still fighting to put out the blaze.
