An early morning fire, suspected to be electrical in origin, gutted a Campbellville Housing Scheme home, leaving a family of four counting their losses early yesterday morning.
According to Manx Powers, the owner of the two-storey house at Lot 102 Campbellville Housing Scheme, Georgetown, nothing was saved. Powers occupied the house with his wife and two children, ages two and five.
The bottom flat housed an office for the family business office, which was also destroyed.
The fire occurred around 3am yesterday.
When Stabroek News visited the scene yesterday, a number of residents vented their concerns about the constant low voltage they have been experiencing on a daily basis. The issue, according to them, has been plaguing them for years.
They said several complaints were made to the Guyana Power and Light Inc (GPL), all of which have fallen on deaf ears.
“Somebody got to be liable for this because right now I don’t even have anywhere to stay neither can I say what’s my next move,” Powers said.
“All this could have been avoided if they had taken actions,” he added.
Powers, who celebrated his birthday on Thursday, told Stabroek News that at the time of the fire he and his family were at his cousin’s house in Linden, where they had a get together.
It was there that he received a call from a neighbour, who informed him about the fire. The man said he immediately left for Georgetown and arrived to find the house gutted.
The fire service was alerted and responded in a timely manner. Firefighters managed to contain the fire, which could have spread to neighbouring houses that are situated in close proximity to the Powers home.
One neighbour related to this newspaper that he was in bed when he was awakened by the call of another neighbour, who informed him that the community was experiencing low voltage.
According to the man, afterward he began to feel intense heat and when he took a look out the window, he saw Powers’ house on fire.
He said he immediately raised an alarm and then joined with other residents in forming a bucket brigade. However, he noted that due to the intensity of the heat they were forced to discontinue their efforts to fight the fire.
Before speaking to this newspaper, he said he had just visited GPL once again to make another complaint. He explained that due to the low voltage, his electric stove was damaged.
Meanwhile, Debra Wilkinson, another neighbour, said just a few days ago she almost lost her house one of her electric bulbs started to spark.
Efforts to contact GPL for a comment on the low voltage in the area proved futile.
