One year after Grove fire…Victims still ‘grieving,’ seeking compensation

Mar 10, 2012 News

Last Sunday marked one year since a fire destroyed five houses at Grove,

Some of the ruins from last year’s fire.

East Bank Demerara (EBD) and while some of the victims have accepted their losses, others are still traumatised.
The fire reportedly started at a Chinese restaurant before consuming the nearby buildings in less than an hour.
While some believe that the fire was the work of an arsonist, investigators have found that it was caused by a lighted stove in the Chinese restaurant.
Some angry homeowners are demanding that those responsible for their losses be made to face some form of justice, since these persons allegedly waited until the blaze was already uncontrollable before raising an alarm.
Cecil Pooran, 77, told Kaieteur News that he can never forget what had transpired a year ago.
Pooran, who resided at Lot 50, Grove Squatting Area, said that he had rented the bottom flat of his building to a Chinese national who operated a restaurant, Chinese Dragon, on an eight-year contract.
He said that the contract ended sometime in February 2011, and the Chinese national asked him to renew the contract, but he refused.
The 77-year-old man said that he and his wife were asleep when someone shouted for fire.
“After I realize the house was on fire me and my wife had to leave the top flat which was already on fire. I help my wife to come out because she was asleep and she woke up with a shock”.
He sustained some burns while assisting his wife out of the building.
His wife, however, had to be rushed to a private hospital because she suffered an “instant” heart attack, Pooran said.
The elderly man said that the house was there for 78 years and the “world” admired his property “but now everything is gone.”
He explained that he wanted to pass the house on to his children as a “legacy” but now “all I can offer is the land.”
After the fire, Cecil and his family found shelter at a Muslim resident’s home, given that his grandson is the second Imam of a nearby Masjid.
Anjou Ganesh and her daughter, other victims, said that ever since the fire, they are being “pushed around.”
Savitrie, whose home was located at the back of her mother’s, said that she suffered losses amounted to $1M while her mother estimated her losses to be $7M.
They both told this publication that they have not received any assistance from the government.
“I get a little help from outside and I just frame up something because I don’t have anywhere to go,” Savitrie said.
Her mother, however, said that she cannot afford to rebuild her home.
And Yvonne Ramkishun, who lost her two-flat home located at 51, Grove Public Road, said that she, with some assistance, has managed to “frame up” a structure which she and her family have been occupying.
The other house which was destroyed housed a family of five, Neil James, his wife and three children. The lower flat of that building housed a liquor store. However, some of the items from that business place were saved.