(Jamaica Observer) Rickie Stewart had a sense of foreboding leading up to his 32nd birthday yesterday.
“Mi just never feel the vibes fi celebrate mi birthday. About three nights ago mi have a dream that I was just crying and crying, but mi couldn’t tell why I was crying, and a co-worker was there trying to comfort me. From that I was telling my wife that I am not in the mood to celebrate my birthday,” Stewart said yesterday, holding back tears as he looked at the charred remains of the four-bedroom rented house at 42 Clydesdale Avenue in Pembroke Hall, St Andrew, where he lived with his wife Marlo King Stewart, their two sons, and his wife’s 66 year-old father, Raymond King.
The fire, which started after 11:00 am yesterday, destroyed nearly all the contents of the house. A few pairs of shoes belonging to the couple’s four-year old son, and two saving pans containing silver coins were recovered.
“Mi just get paid yesterday and mi put $50,000 in a drawer in my room and all of it burn up. I was going to take it with me, but mi end up put it back because I didn’t want to walk with so much money. ‘Birth paper’, passport, everything burn up,” Stewart cried.
When the Jamaica Observer arrived at the scene, Mrs Stewart was busy trying to make arrangements for her family.
“I don’t know where I am right now. This is a dream that I am waiting to wake up from,” said the distraught mother who explained that her 14-year-old son, a grade 3 student at Campion College, is scheduled to start his end-of-term examinations tomorrow.
“The laptop with everything on it gone. Them school uniform burn up — everything gone,” she said, unable to hold back the tears.
She explained that she and her husband had left their home that morning to conduct their usual Saturday errands when they got word of the fact that their home was on fire.
“I left my son at home raking. Another tenant who has a room at the back is away and if my son was not on the outside, he wouldn’t have seen the fire,” said Mrs Stewart.
Residents in the community, who witnessed the blaze, said they noticed smoke coming from the back of the house about 11:20 am, at which point the Half-Way-Tree Fire Station was alerted.
“I just come out and see fire at the back of the house. We called the fire truck and it came about 30 to 45 minutes after,” said one resident.
Mrs Stewart, however, complained that the fire brigade took much longer to arrive, as she and her husband arrived before the firefighters showed up.
“Mi a come from Clock Tower Plaza in Half-Way-Tree and my husband was coming all the way from downtown when we hear about the fire and called the fire station. Is public transportation we take and still reach before the fire truck. The taxi I was travelling in have fi put on his blinkers (hazard lights), going through the stop lights,” she said.
Fire Brigade District Officer Oneil Blake told the Sunday Observer that the cause of the fire was undetermined.
“We are doing our investigations and the family will be notified,” said Blake, who estimated the loss at $5 million.
He also said that no one was seriously hurt in the blaze. However, the grandfather sustained minor burns to his shoulder while rescuing his younger grandson from the inferno.
King, who suffers from glaucoma and was at home with his grandsons at the time of the fire, told the Sunday Observer that in spite of his poor sight, he managed to save the boy, who was playing by himself in another room.
“I was in the front part of the house when my grandson come and tell me that him smell something burning. The fire was in a room at the back and I was calling out for the younger one because I couldn’t find him. When I found him he was on the bed in his brother’s room and the fire was coming towards that room, so I had was to grab him up and run out the house through the fire,” said King.
“Mi can’t even see too good and all mi medication and mi eye drops gone,” King lamented.
Councillor Andrew Harris (JLP, Hughenden Division), who was at the scene, told the Sunday Observer that material support will be offered to the family as soon as a report is filed with the police.
“Most definitely we will give them some assistance. Through my office we will try to get assistance for them from Food For The Poor as well as through the community development fund. I will see to it that they get the help they need as soon as possible,” said Harris.
Addressing the issue of a hydrant from which firefigters said they were unable to access water, Harris said: “We have water in the community but I know that the pressure is low. The issue of fire hydrants in and around Kingston needing servicing has been discussed in our council meetings. This is something that I will seek to put back on the front burner.”
In the meantime, the Stewarts are happy that no one was seriously hurt in the blaze and are thankful for the support they have receive from family and friends.
“My co-workers are rallying to help us. My dad is going to go to Vineyard Town to stay with someone for a while,” said Mrs Stewart. “Me and my husband are going to have to figure out where to go next. But, it’s my husband’s birthday and we are still going to find a way to celebrate tonight.”
