Woman, 62, perishes in fire

Jul 21, 2010 News

A 62-year-old woman’s charred remains were pulled from the bottom flat of her two-storey house at 22 De Buff, Canal Number 2, sometime after 03:00 hours yesterday.
Reports are that neighbours saw smoke emanating from the woman’s house sometime after 01:30 hours. When the blaze was quelled the remains of Bibi Saqkhena Latif were removed from the lower flat of the building.
One neighbour, Ramroop Mahadeo whose house was saved, said he was alerted by another neighbour about the smoke but their efforts were in vain as they tried to save the woman.

The dead woman's daughter, Saudia

“I hear de neighbour shouting fuh fire! fire! So I start calling fuh this lady because we couldn’t get in the house, we call and we call but this lady didn’t answering.”
According to Mahadeo, by the time the alarm was raised the entire house was engulfed in flames and there were loud explosions – believed to have been as a result of liquor bottles which were in the bar. The property housed a mini-bar as well in the lower flat.
Mahadeo said after persons in the area heard the shouts they ran to the scene to offer whatever assistance they could. He said their efforts as part of a bucket brigade was of little help. The man told this newspaper that by the time the fire service arrived on the scene the entire house was gutted and it took the firemen some thirty minutes to get their water pump into operation. The man said during that period, neighbours did all they could to save two adjacent buildings from being burnt.
Most of the articles in the two houses were removed as part of precautionary measures. Both houses suffered damage.
“Right now I just glad, it coulda be worst. At least we could do li’l painting back and do back de window, a woman dead… dat is sad,” Mahadeo lamented.
He said he is thankful to the many persons who rendered assistance. Another neighbour, Vishnu Mohabir said he too is thankful that his house was saved but expressed sadness for the life which was lost.
“I was sleeping but I wake up fuh something and start smelling smoke, so I wake up me wife and tell she something burning the kitchen, when we check we ain’t see nothing in the kitchen.”
The man said he then went out onto his verandah when he noticed his neighbour’s house smoking and raised an alarm. He, too, highlighted the fact that persons who raced to the scene were very helpful in saving the two adjacent houses.
“There wasn’t anything much we coulda do to save this lady so we just had to try and save the other two building.”
He too noted that the fire service was of not much help as by the time they arrived, given the distance they had to travel, the house was completely gutted.

What is left of the two-storey house

Meanwhile, one of the dead woman’s three children, Saudia Sinclair, said she was in the city when she got the call about the fire. She said when she arrived at the house where she spent all of her childhood, the structure was completely gone.
According to the daughter, she is puzzled that her mother was unable to get out from the burning building since she was very active and able bodied. She told this newspaper that it was not a case where her mother was sleeping in an enclosed bedroom.
“In the house downstairs we have a daytime bed in the hall and that’s where she sleeps. When I saw her remains, her hands from her wrist down were gone including her foot from her knees down”.
This newspaper was also told that the house was recently renovated as the family was expecting relatives from Canada later today.
Up to noon yesterday firemen were at the scene looking for clues as they continue their investigations.