Latest update November 21st, 2024 1:00 AM
Three homeless after Cove & John fire
What is left of the Rambaghans two-storey house
A fire of unknown origin destroyed a two-storey house in Cove and John, East Coast Demerara yesterday morning, leaving a family of three homeless.
Escaping the conflagration were 75-year-old Jasmattie Rambaghan called ‘Betty’; her 25-year-old grandson Vicky Rambaghan, and his sister, Mahadai Rambaghan, 23.
When Kaieteur News arrived at the scene, the fire had already destroyed more than half of the building, which is located at First Street, Craigmill, Cove and John, while the firefighters were battling to save what was left.
According to neighbours, the fire started in the upper flat at around 09:45 hrs.
Nirmala Rambaghan, a relative, told this newspaper that the occupants were in the lower flat of the house, when an alert neighbour informed them that smoke was emanating from the top flat.
However, according to Nirmala, by the time her brother (Vicky) ran upstairs to determine the cause, the entire upper flat was already engulfed in flames.
Since there is no fire station on the East Coast of Demerara, the lone fire tender from the Guyana Sugar Corporation (GuySuCo) was summoned to the scene, and with the help of residents in the community, relative control of the situation was established until the fire truck from Georgetown arrived.
Kaieteur News understands that Betty’s grandson, Vicky operated a small furniture store in the bottom flat, but according to his sister Nirmala, he was watching television the entire morning, and was not operating any of his equipment, thus reducing the possibility that the fire could have been one of an electrical nature.
Nirmala explained that approximately three years ago, the house was renovated and rewired. During the rewiring process, the family had implemented a ‘fly back’ system to shut off the electricity in the house, if there was any instability.
However, she noted that this was not the case.
With the help of residents, the family was only able to save a fridge and a microwave.
The occupants of the house were in an obvious state of shock and were unable to comment on what could have caused the fire.
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