Four persons are now homeless after two buildings up in flames on Friday afternoon at Lochaber, West Canje, Region Six (East Berbice-Corentyne) – a suburb that is considered a part of the town of New Amsterdam.
The fire started sometime around 12:50h.
Residents of the neighbouring community – Mount Sinai, which is commonly referred to as Angoy’s Avenue, related that the fire started from an unattended burning garbage heap.
One of the houses was occupied by a man and his son who were both out at the time, and the other by a man and his wife.
The woman reportedly fled the area when the fire spread and started burning the first building. Reports are that the woman had left a garbage fire unattended and it eventually spread to the two houses which were close by.
One resident, Deon Wilson, said the man was burning garbage and left it burning and went out, leaving his wife to look over the fire.
“It was about 10 O’clock when he was burning garbage and leave it an go out and then it start to catch to the grass.”
According to Wilson, at one point in time, he had to leave his home and go outside to put out a part of the spreading grass fire.
“I did not know that the fire was over there going to the house at the back. Is when I wake up because I was sleeping. When I look, I see the small house burning and I try to save the big house but I couldn’t make it because it was me alone.”
Wilson said he used a bucket and took water from a nearby canal in an attempt to dose the fire which had moved to the second building.
“I dash it on the side of the wall but the hat was so much. I had to run downstairs. Everything gone haywire after that,” he explained.
He said the fire service took a long while to respond.
