Nine homeless after fire guts home in Amelia’s Ward

Dec 06, 2017 News

For many there will be a joyous Christmas but the Lampkin family will have a black Christmas as fire destroyed their two-storeyed house at 119 Wall Street, Self Help Housing Scheme, Amelia’s Ward, on Monday night.
The destruction has left nine people homeless, including six children.
The fire which started around 19:30 hrs in the back bedroom of the top flat completely destroyed everything. Dylon Lampkin who occupied the bottom flat said he was not at home when the fire started.
“I came in from town (Georgetown) and was just in time to break in de bottom and save a few things, but everything gone. My sisters and their children live upstairs and they lose everything. Nothing ent safe, not even important documents.”
According to an emotional Lampkin, the house is children property and he has been living there for the past 45 years; his parents are deceased and his sisters, Danette Sue and Deniese Lampkin, occupy the top flat.
He said he cannot say what caused the fire but was told that his mentally challenged nephew was playing with matches and lit a mattress.
While the family is contemplating their next move especially at this time of the year, 17-year-old Mark Miggins is more emotional because he lost everything for school.

What’s left of the property

Miggings, a fifth form student of the Linden Foundation High School, is emotionally disturbed because he lost all his school clothes and books and more importantly his laptop with his SBA’s. “I am writing six subjects at CXC next year and me laptop and all my SBA gone. I don’t know what to do now; I wish I could get another laptop to do my work.”
Neighbours of the Lampkins say the fire service was called long before it arrived. They all said that if only the truck had arrived earlier they could have saved the house.
One neighbour said she called the fire station many times and other neighbours called, too. At one time a girl answered, “We get the call and we wukking on it but we ent know is where.”
According to the neighbour the fire officers in Linden need to be more proactive.