Fire destroys two Crabwood Creek homes

Mar 06, 2014 News

– Six homeless
Six persons, including an elderly man and two children are now homeless after a fire suspected to be of electrical origin on Monday afternoon destroyed two wooden houses at Crabwood Creek, Upper Corentyne, leaving millions of dollars in losses.
According to information, the blaze started around 17:30hrs and quickly engulfed the first building and by the time help could arrive, the second building was also gutted.
The fire reportedly began in a room on the upper flat of the house situated at Lot 65 Crabwood Creek which was occupied by the Lilman family.

What is left of the two buildings.

According to Satesh Lilman, 32, he had just returned from the back dam and was resting in a hammock downstairs when he heard neighbours shouting and screaming. He said he hurried upstairs only to be confronted with the fire.
He stated that he could not save anything as he was forced to rush out of the house and run for safety.
He totaled his losses at over $10 million.
In the meantime, the fire had spread to the house occupied by, 83 year- old Dropadi Baichu, and her son Rajkumar Lokahi, 66.
The elderly woman was devastated at her loss and was very shaken by the incident. They estimate their losses at over $13M.
Residents were not pleased with the response of the fire service and stated that if they had responded sooner, the houses could have been saved.
The residents said that after the fire started they called the Corriverton Fire Service on numerous occasions, but got no answer as the phones kept ringing out. They then called the Springlands Police Station. The Police responded and tried contacting the Fire service themselves, to no avail. “They had to call the head office in Georgetown, who had to make contact by radio before anyone could respond,” one resident said.
This is the second fire in the last few days to have destroyed buildings in the Upper Corentyne area.
Last Friday’s fire destroyed three buildings, at Number 72 Village, Corentyne, leaving 11 persons homeless. In both instances the fire service has been heavily criticized for their slow response.

Pic filed as berbice fire 1-4