Four homeless after Corentyne blaze

Apr 09, 2019 News

A fire of unknown origin on Sunday, completely destroyed a two-storeyed wooden building where a couple and their two children lived, The fire broke out at 11:30 am at Number 57 Village, Corentyne, Berbice.

According to Marcia Portman, she was downstairs with her daughter in the kitchen when she noticed smoke emanating from the back of the house.

“Both me and my daughter run out the house to see where it coming from and then I see it coming from the upstairs. I run in back to see if I could go upstairs because we got an inside step but the stairway was already black with smoke so I tek me daughter and run out,” she said.

The woman explained that she ran out of her yard and alerted neighbours who immediately contacted the fire service, which arrived 30 minutes later. By then the building was already completely consumed by the fire.

“By time they come everything already burn up,” Portman added.

The woman who is a domestic worker, said the building was not theirs but rather her husband’s relatives who had left the house for them to live and take care of. Their children, ages 12 and 6, are left with the clothes on their back.

All of their school supplies and clothing were burnt in the inferno. The 12-year-old boy attends the Skeldon Line Path Secondary School while the six-year-old girl attends the Number 57 Village Nursery.

Portman had told this publication that she is still trying to figure out how the fire started but noted that there was nothing alight in the upper flat nor was she experiencing trouble with electricity.