Parfait Harmonie house goes up in flames after row between couple

Neighbours were last night furious that a row between a husband and wife may have sparked the husband to set their Lot 548 99th Street, Parfait Harmonie home ablaze.
Neighbours told Stabroek News that the couple had been arguing consistently for the past month. “They carrying on like dem 16; two big old people,” one neighbour said.

They said the couple fought throughout the day yesterday before the man allegedly set fire to the home and quietly rode off on his bicycle.

One neighbour stated that the man’s alleged negligence could have been much worse if residents in the area didn’t act quickly. He said that as soon as neighbours saw the blaze they started throwing buckets of water in an attempt to prevent the fire from spreading. He said the Guyana Fire Service arrived much later by which time the house was already completely burnt. The neighbour showed Stabroek News damage done to his house and another house.

The home was gone within minutes of the fire starting.
The home was gone within minutes of the fire starting.

This newspaper was told that the woman went to the police station afterwards, but the man had not returned to the scene. Their neighbours said the man is a guard at a secondary school in Georgetown while the woman sells at the Parika Stelling.

When Stabroek News spoke with the fire chief last night, he said he was not sure what caused the fire and that more information would be known today. He did say that the GFS did respond as quickly as possible. Parfait Harmonie is a huge fairly new housing development which is in need of a fire station. Residents have repeatedly asked for consideration to be made in this regard. First response comes from Leonora, however Georgetown is responsible for sending backup trucks if needed, which means that the fire service may take half an hour or more to reach Parfait Harmonie.