Fire Chief (ag) Gregory Wickham has confirmed that the recent fire which destroyed a Wakenaam, Region Three house and business was electrical in origin.
Contacted yesterday for an update, Wickham told Stabroek News that the cause of the fire was determined following an investigation.
Stabroek News had reported that the fire occurred around 3am Sunday at Lot 17 Belle Plaine Wakenaam, Essequibo River.
The building was owned by businessman, Anil Rambarran and his wife, Nadira Rambarran. The couple lived in the upper flat while they operated a general store in the lower flat.
The fire started in the botton flat and quickly spread through the entire structure. Millions of dollars in items were destroyed including Rambarran’s jewellery and a quantity of cash.
Residents told Stabroek News that they woke up and ran over to render assistance but the fire quickly gutted the upper flat.
“We stood just watching, Rambarran is a good man to this community and we are all with him, we are sorry for his loss,” a resident said.
Wakenaam does not have a fire station.
The Guyana Fire Service (GFS) in a recent press release said that twelve persons were trained and equipped with firefighting equipment to respond to fires on the island. Training, the GFS said will continue on March 7th and the will be extended to Leguan and other areas in the future.
