The victims of Thursday’s fire at John Street, Werk-en-Rust are looking to put the pieces back together and yesterday began clearing the rubble with the aim of rebuilding.
When Stabroek News visited the scene of the fire, at least five men were on the gutted upper flat knocking down burnt wood. Eight persons lost their home and not seven as this newspaper had reported; among them are four children.
Ingrid Sheriff, who resided in the lower flat while her daughter and her family lived upstairs, was looking on at the work from across the street.
She said she was grateful for the two mattresses, pillows, pots, utensils and foodstuff she had received earlier in the day from a charitable organisation. She could not remember the name of the organisation.
Sheriff recalled seeing a small pocket of fire when she looked up at her ceiling and she immediately ran out of the house without attempting to save anything. She said she has been living at the location for the last nine years and following the tragedy she has sought lodging at the Red Thread Organisation, a short distance away.
Sheriff said she was clueless as to what started the fire.
Her son-in-law, Randolph Taylor, she said, sustained terrible burns to his back but has not been admitted to hospital. “If you see he shoulder,” she stressed.
Sheriff said that from all appearances, the man ran out of the building but after realizing that he was not seeing his two-year-old son, ran back inside to save him. During his efforts to save the child, a piece of burning wood fell on him.
Sheriff said her daughter, Melissa is devastated especially since the fire brought back memories of a similar tragedy in 2004 in which she lost two children.
At that time, Melissa had three children and was pregnant with a fourth. On June 7, 2004, she left the children in the care of an aunt and went out. Two-year-old Rashuana and four-year-old Retisha were at some point left unattended in a bedroom on the upper flat of their North Sophia home. Relatives who were downstairs and neighbours managed to douse the flames that erupted in the bedroom and the two badly burnt girls who were hiding behind a barrel were rushed to the hospital and admitted.
Rashuana died one day later while Retisha succumbed nine days after being burnt.
Sheriff told Stabroek News yesterday that she is pondering why this recent incident happened. She said her daughter and her family are “seeking lodging by some people”.
She said that the family is planning to rebuild their home.
Based on the accounts given, most of the occupants were in the house when smoke was spotted coming from a back room. According to what this newspaper was told there was no one in that room at the time nor was there a power surge or sparking wires before the 8.20 am fire.
Fire Chief Marlon Gentle has since said that an investigation is underway to determine the cause of the fire. He said that from all appearances the fire was caused by “domestic activity”.
Residents said that firefighters responded promptly and was able to limit most of the fire damage to the upper flat.
