A Belle West family of nine homeless lost their home and were left counting millions in losses after a fire on Thursday.
The house belonging to Julie Yipsam and her family at Lot 1386 Phase Two, Belle West, Canal Number Two, went up in flames shortly before 12 pm on Thursday after a fire, believed to be of electrical origin, started in the ceiling of one of the three bedrooms.
“I was in the kitchen dishing out food. I gave everybody food. My daughter was in the room at the time then my sister-in-law gone in the room and then she run out and tell me smoke coming from the ceiling. I tell everybody in the house to run out and don’t wait, then I start calling for all of my neighbours,” Yipsam recounted.
The house was shared by Yipsam, her husband, their six daughters and a granddaughter. No one was hurt.
The woman lamented that although neighbours formed a bucket brigade they were unable to save anything. The Guyana Fire Service did not get to the location of the fire until some forty five minutes later, by which time the house had been burnt to the ground.
According to the woman, she estimates her losses to be more than $8 million. Among her valuables that were lost were her fridge, freezer, television, beds, and their cell phones. Her husband, who is currently away at sea, was none the wiser about the tragedy up to yesterday. He is not scheduled to return home until another five days from now.
Their home, she said, was not insured. The family lived at Herstelling, East Bank Demerara before settling at Belle West two years ago.
Presently the family is divided and staying at relatives. Yipsam said that her neighbours have since reached out to her and her family and provided them with monetary support and clothing. At the time this newspaper visited, neighbours had also helped to clear most of the debris.
