Mystery fire strikes again in Linden, another house destroyed

Feb 14, 2010 News

The blackened frame and piles of rubble and zinc sheets, are all that’s left of a house at Lot 105 Block 22,Wismar, Linden, after fire razed the property owned by 42-year-old Jennifer Alman, shortly after 2:00 hours yesterday.
Alman was on duty at the Guyana Telephone and Telegraph (GT&T) Christianburg Exchange, where she works as a special constable, when her daughter, Vanessa, who lives in the same yard, called her with the dreadful news. But by that time, the building had been destroyed.
The loss is especially devastating for Alman, who said that she had not celebrated Christmas, and had only done the ‘Christmas cleaning’ last week, after she had bought Vinyl and other supplies to ‘put away’ the house. She had built the wooden house just over 20 years ago.
She had also collected $80,000 in box money around the same time, and she had this money in the house to purchase stocks for her shop.
‘And I did tell me daughter that I didn’t have no money when she ask me, because I did keeping it for the shop. Now all gone. I ain’t left with nothing. Me brand new washing machine that I ain’t even open yet, me TV, DVD, everything gone. I ain’t even got clothes to put on!” The distraught woman lamented.
Even some clothing belonging to her daughter, Vanessa, that was under the house was burnt.
Alman said that she would not be reporting for duty tomorrow as she has no clothes to wear.
Vanessa said that she took a while to call her mother, after the fire started, as she did not know how to break the terrible news to her. She said that her mother has a heart condition.
“When I did get the courage to call her and I told her that the house had burnt down, she seemed in shock, and just kept saying hmm, hmm- and I became very worried for her.”
But I was relieved when she later called a neighbour to confirm what I told her; at least I knew she was okay.
According to Vanessa, her baby had awakened her, and seemed in no mood to go back to sleep, which she reflected, was probably a good thing, as she was later alerted to funny sounds, which she decided to get up and investigate.
She was however not prepared for the sight that greeted her when she went outside.
Fire was emanating from her mother’s house which was less than fifteen yards away.
Vanessa said that she immediately got some water and started soaking the floor of the house. No one could get in the house as it was locked up.
The woman said that she was very nervous, and kept shaking, but she couldn’t move or holler, as she was in shock. It was only later, upon the urging of neighbours, that she recollected herself enough to agree to have items removed from her home.
Neighbours who were alerted soon formed a bucket brigade, after calling the fire service.
The two fire trucks arrived more than an hour later, and by then Alman’s house was reduced to glowing embers.
“Is like they get lost;” many persons who were at the scene opined.
Many of them condemned the fire service for the tardiness in responding to calls.
And once more they only succeeded in putting out the inferno, after the house was reduced to rubble. They also cooled the house nearby, which was under threat from the fire.
The house had to be sprayed with water repeatedly to save it from igniting but two louvre windows which could not withstand the heat were shattered. Several household appliances also had to be taken out of Vanessa’s house, as the fire raged next door, threatening to spread.
So intense was the heat that everything had to be passed through the window on the eastern side of the house. Even those helping also had to exit the house through the window.
Neighbours were especially helpful in removing furniture and appliances from her home, Vanessa Alman pointed out, and expressed appreciation; but she was nonetheless surprised and disappointed that somebody used the opportunity to extract almost $6,000 from her purse and a few items of jewellery belonging to her children.
Jennifer Alman is at present staying with her daughter, Vanessa, but the sight of the burnt out rubble that was once her home is almost too much for her to bear, and in her destitute state she is appealing to those in authority to render some form of assistance.
Only a few days ago, another Block 22 family was rendered destitute after fire demolished their house. They, too, are also in dire need of assistance; as like Jennifer Alman and her daughter Voleita Alman who lived with her, they were left with just the clothes on their backs.

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Mystery fire strikes again in Linden, another house destroyed

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