Arson is suspected in a fire yesterday morning at La Grange, West Bank Demerara which left three buildings gutted and two others damaged.
The fire which started just after 2 am in one of the houses, quickly caught on to the neighbouring buildings, leaving some 19 persons homeless. In an interview with Stabroek News, Acting Fire Chief, Kalamodeen Edoo, reported that the Guyana Fire Service received a call at around 2:27 am and responded with one fire tender from La Grange and another from West Ruimveldt, Georgetown.
Edoo stated that according to their initial investigations, the owner of the property where the fire originated, reported that his neighbour had alerted him to a fire that was in his yard which he investigated and extinguished. However, after the owner went back to bed, about 15 to 20 minutes later his neighbour called out again and alerted him to another fire, this time in his kitchen area. As the buildings were close together, the Fire Chief explained, the heat from the building of origin quickly spread to the neighbouring building which housed two businesses; the Sip and Chat Chill Spot, and a wholesale establishment.
