(Trinidad Express) The daughter of burn victim Nowmattie Ramnat-Ramphal said she will not rest until she finds out exactly what happened to her mother the night she died.
Ramnat-Ramphal, a Guyanese national, was burnt to death at her home at St John’s Trace, Avocat, Fyzabad, when the house caught afire around 10.30 p.m. on Friday.
Ramnat-Ramphal, 39, was a domestic worker in Trinidad for the past three years.
The other persons who were in the house at the time escaped injury, except one.
An autopsy is expected to take place today at the Forensic Science Centre in St James.
Amanda Ramnat, who tried to help her mother, said, “I know that something is wrong and until I know exactly what happened, I would not have a peace of mind. I will only be satisfied when I find out exactly what happened.”
Yesterday, Ramnat, 22, said, “I do not know if she got a heart attack or if she just gave up at the shock of it. But she was a fighter. She has been through a lot in life. She was both mother and father to me.”
Ramnat, who was resting in her room, noticed a small fire on the floor in her mother’s room.
“There is a crack about four to five inches wide on the door. I saw the small fire and my mother threw a sheet over it trying to out it. I saw the sheet being moved and then the fire just blazed up. By the time I reached the door, I could not open it. It was locked.”
She said her mother screamed someone’s name once and after that, she heard nothing else.
Ramnat grabbed her seven-year-old brother Justin and ran from the house.
Ramnat has one sister, Kimberly Ramnat-Deolal, 17.
By the time fire officers arrived at the scene a few minutes later, the two-bedroom wooden house was destroyed.
The family was assisted by neighbours and persons at the Member of Parliament for Fyzabad Chandresh Sharma’s constituency office.
Ramnat said she was grateful for all the hampers, clothing and mattress she received. She said the Government was covering all the funeral’s expenses and assisting her in getting a place to rent.
“They said they could help us to get a place to rent for about three to five months and then they will see if we could get a HDC (Housing Development Corporation) house. If we could get that that will be a very good thing because I do not want to really depend on anybody or family members to stay by.”
Her boyfriend Ronnie Wilfred, who suffered minor burns to his hand, said he was not leaving her alone.
Ramnat and her brother are staying by Wilfred’s family at Delhi Road, Fyzabad.
Ramnat said she could not say when her mother’s funeral will take place. A close relative is being questioned by police.
