Early morning fire demolishes De Willem house

May 17, 2010 News

– three homeless

An early morning fire at De Willem South, West Coast Demerara, has left three persons and yet another addition to the list of unsolved fire investigations for the Guyana Fire Service.

This is what is left of the house after it was gutted by fire early yesterday morning.

Reports are that around 03:00 hours yesterday, fire of unknown origin completely destroyed a house located at 101 De Willem South. At the time of the fire, none of the three occupants of the house was at home. Kheel Persaud, a relative of the homeowner, said he was in Essequibo when he got a call saying his mother’s house was on fire. The man said that earlier in the night, his mother and sister had contacted him informing him that they were going at a relative in the city for the night. He said that after receiving the first phone call, he maintained telephone contact with persons in the area. He said that from what he was told, the response from the Fire Service was nothing to shout about. This was further confirmed by residents of the area. One neighbour said that had the Fire Service arrived sooner, part of the building and its contents could have been saved. Persons who witnessed the fire said the Fire Service took a while to arrive on the scene and by the time they arrived, most of the house was destroyed.
When asked if he had any idea what may have started the fire, Persaud said he is certain that it was not electrical in origin. According to Persaud, it is customary for his family to turn off their electrical main switch upon leaving the home at all times. He said he also has no reason to believe that the house was deliberately set alight.
The man said he estimates that his family lost in excess of $5M as a result of the fire. When this newspaper arrived at the scene the only thing that was left standing was the verandah of the three bedroom house. Up to press time yesterday, investigators from the Guyana Fire Service were still trying to ascertain the cause of the fire.