Fire of yet to be determined origin yesterday left one person dead, nine homeless and resulted in millions of dollars in losses.
Dead is Ayube Intahas Hamid, 59, proprietor of Homeline Furnishings and of Lot 35 Galaxy Street, East Canefield, Canje, Berbice. According to reports, Hamid was the first person to notice the fire which reportedly started in the lower flat of a massive two-storey, concrete building which he occupied with his wife Zamella Hamid. The building served as his residence, furniture showroom and furniture workshop.
It is said that the well-known furniture manufacturer ventured upstairs to alert his wife and after ensuring her safe exit returned into the burning building to retrieve a few items. From all indications, it was upon his return into the building that he got trapped and subsequently perished. His wife was inconsolable over the loss of her husband and could not speak with Stabroek News.
Meanwhile, in addition to claiming the life of Hamid and completely destroying his property, the fire also ravished the Lot 36 Galaxy Street residence of his neighbours, the Bahadurs.
John Bahadur told Stabroek News that he was preparing to take his children to school when he heard someone shouting “Fire! Fire!” This was when he realized his neighbour’s property was being consumed by fire. “My neighbour was shouting that fire start in his workshop, and when I go and see the fire had just started to flare,” he explained.
Bahadur said the fire moved so swiftly, it spread and devastated his property “in the blink of an eye.” The distraught man explained that he shared the two-storey wooden and concrete house with his wife Debbie, four sons, daughter-in-law and grandson. He also operated a Radio and Electronic Service and Repairs Shop in the bottom flat. He and his family now have to seek lodging at a relative’s while he rebuilds. “I can’t say how much we suffer in losses cause we living here for over 13 years now and is everything gone; it was a lot,” he said.
Grateful that his family escaped unharmed and contemplating his next move, Bahadur said he doesn’t know how and when he’s going to rebuild, since he not only lost his home but his business and source of income as well. “Hopefully with help from family and friends I will be able to rebuild,” he stated.
Bahadur opined that were the fire service better prepared, there might have been a different outcome. “I believe that the fire service could have done better,” he said.
He stated that when the fire tenders arrived, the fire fighters “were not prepared, the pump didn’t start right away, and water was not there and in that span of time the fire escalated.”
However, when contacted, Divisional Officer of the Guyana Fire and Rescue Service ‘B’ Division, Superintendent Patrick Carmichael commended his fire fighters for what he described as “their exceptional job in containing the fire under immense pressure.” He said that they worked tirelessly for hours to save the nearby houses. Stabroek News was informed that the fire service received the first call at 07:30 hrs, though eye witness reports indicate that the fire started just after 07:00 hrs. The lapse in time, Carmichael said, appeared to be as a result of persons not knowing what numbers to call to report the fire, despite their best efforts to sensitize the general public. Also, employees (of Hamid) and residents in the area were reportedly trying to contain and extinguish the fire themselves before thought was given to summoning the fire service.
Three fire tenders were subsequently dispatched to the scene, but difficulties in sourcing an adequate supply of water complicated the efforts to extinguish the fire. Fire fighters were eventually able to source water some 250 metres away.
Another challenge for fire fighters was the large quantity of combustible and flammable materials stored in the building where the fire originated. Nevertheless, with help from GuySuCo’s fire tender, fire fighters were able to contain and extinguish the fire. A body, believed to be that of Ayube Hamid was subsequently recovered from the ground floor in the south-eastern section of the building.
Meanwhile, the Kowlessar family—numbering four—whose address is Lot 34 Galaxy Street, was also displaced by the fire. Their two-storey house also suffered damage as a result of the fire. The outer walls of the southern part of the house were severely scorched, windows were shattered and the articles in the house suffered water damage. They told Stabroek News they are considering their options to determine where to stay while they attempt to restore their house to some level of normalcy. The family was unable to estimate the cost of the damage.
Hamid leaves to mourn his wife, two daughters, two granddaughters and other relatives. Close to two dozen of his employees have now found themselves jobless.
