A Cummings Lodge, East Coast Demerara family’s Christmas preparations were ruined yesterday morning after a fire, suspected to have been caused by an unattended diya, gutted their home.
The fire, which started around 11.15 am, ripped through the wooden two-storey house, located at Lot 657 8th Street, South West Cummings Lodge, within minutes.
The house was occupied by Shavana and Seow Deolall and their two children, Faziela Mohamed, 21, and Gavin Deolall, 11.
At the time of the fire, only Mohamed was at home. Shavana and Gavin had left to go shopping in Georgetown, while Seow, who works as a construction worker, was at his worksite at Pearl, East Bank Demerara.
None of the family’s possessions were saved from the fire.
It also shattered the windows of two neighbouring houses and caused some amount of damage to an apartment situated at the rear of the house, which was being rented to Hakeem Waterman, his fiancée, Maliyah Prince, and her father, James Prince.
The Guyana Fire Service was alerted but by the time the firefighters arrived, the house was already gutted. However, quick action by firefighters prevented the fire from spreading further.
Contacted for a comment yesterday, Deputy Fire Chief Jacqueline Greene told Stabroek News that the preliminary investigation revealed that the fire might have been caused by a lit diya, which was left unattended.
Greene said it is believed the diya ignited combustible material and the flames spread.
However, the investigation is underway, she added.
When Stabroek News visited the scene yesterday, a large crowd had gathered. Many residents were seen assisting the family to clear the debris. Others helped Waterman to remove the remaining items from his apartment to a truck.
Faziela explained that she was cleaning and upon returning upstairs she noticed thick smoke in the house but was unsure where it was coming from.
“…I was sweeping the step and go upstairs back when I notice the smoke coming from the fridge corner. So I rush to me room. When I rush in me room to see if anybody light smoke at the back because it does affect me when it come in, it wasn’t dah either. When I come out back in the hall, fire coming out from under she (Shavan’s) room door, which is the front room and you actually hear it burning thing because it making a kind ah noise,” she recalled.
Faziela said she tried to call her mother but got no answer.
Waterman was resting when he heard a loud explosion. “….When I run out, I see the fire. The most I coulda do was loose them dogs wah I had at the back and reverse the car and come out of the yard,” he noted.
His car was parked in front the premises.
Faziela had told Stabroek News that she suspected that the fire was electrical in origin, since there was a fluctuation of electricity earlier in the day and constant power outages since Sunday.
‘Difficult things does happen’
A visibly distressed Shavana explained that she and her son left home for Georgetown earlier in the morning since he insisted on her accompanying him to purchase a pair of boots and other items for his upcoming school Christmas party.
“I didn’t want go, honestly. Whenever I got two mind, difficult things does happen. He tell me ‘Mama carry me quick,’ that how he go come back because he going half day for Maths test… I seh, ‘Boy I won’t take you because 11.30 the school bus picking you up.’ He seh ‘No mama, leh we go.’ I seh, ‘Alright, ready up leh we go…’ He tell me he want a watch fah wear to his Christmas party. He party clothes all get burn up. $5,000 pants… I went and buy a watch, buy a pair boots for him and hurrying down the road, just to come home,” Shavana related as she broke down into tears.
She said as she was approaching home, she heard the bus driver enquiring of another about whose house was on fire. “…The driver ask the other driver who house burning. He turn and seh Margaret daughter (Shavana) … So, I seh ‘No God, you can’t do this to me. No way.’ And when the bus reach here, the fire truck was coming and I tell the driver, I seh ‘Driver, just stop the bus right hay fah me.’ Then he guh seh, ‘Oh god is this girl house burning.’ When I come, everything was down, everything,” she added.
Shavana said all her savings, jewellery and important documents went up in flames.
Christmas preparations
Shavana related that Christmas was high on the agenda for her family.
She said their preparations were in full swing and she and her children had even already started their Christmas shopping since last month to avoid the last minute hassle. Only Sunday, Shavana said, her husband painted her bedroom. She also had bought a few chickens to sell. They were killed in the fire. “I can’t tek it anymore honestly…I can’t bear it. Like I can’t take it anymore,” Shavana cried.
On Sunday, her son took out the Christmas tree and decorations to decorate the house but she stopped him. “I seh ‘Boy I buying thing, I seeing things I like and I buying but like I ain’t feeling Christmas yet.’ I ain’t feeling happy yet but I didn’t know this is wah did coming. It’s such a big shock,” Shavana said. “Up to this morning (yesterday) me husband asking me ‘Wah more yuh gah get fah the house?’” she added.
At the beginning of the year, Shavana said, it’s a norm for the family to start saving to fulfill their needs for Christmas. All of the cash they saved was destroyed. “I got this way from my mother—when you work you save. I does try to push a lil money. I tell them (her children) the same thing. I seh save. When Christmas come, you want lots of nice things, you can buy it. I tell they father open the tin last month end fah them buy the things that they want because I ain’t waiting fah they rush. So he was telling his aunt yesterday (Sunday), out of all ah we saving he has $19,000 and he win we off in saving. I seh yeah, that is good, because I used to pressure them. I seh save. When the father give them money, I write the name on the money and push it in the tin. All dah gone,” Shavana wept.
