Electrical fire leaves several homeless at Zeelugt

Jan 29, 2024 News

Scenes of the aftermath of a fire that destroyed a house at Zeelugt

A scene of the aftermath of a fire that destroyed a house at Zeelugt

Kaieteur News – An overheating drop-cord on Sunday sparked a fire that left at least seven people homeless at Zeelugt on the East Bank of Essequibo (EBE).

The Guyana Fire Service (GFS) said that it received call around 12:38 hrs Sunday that there was a fire at Lot 547, Health Center Street, Zeelugt.
“Water tenders #81 and #84 from Leonora Fire Station were dispatched, with the first unit arriving at 12:37 hrs carrying 18,738 liters of water,” the GFS said in a statement.
Firefighters reported that it was a two storey concrete house which was on fire.

Cell phone videos seen by this media house showed that the firefighters took a while to set-up their equipment, including hoses before tackling the blaze.

Their alleged “slow movements” made residents angry and one of them could be heard saying, “Yuh can’t depend on the Fire Service at all, the fire service don’t give no good service.”
The firemen were able to extinguish the flames but could not save the house from being destroyed.

Among those homeless are 33-year-old Deoraj Jaggernauth and his family of four who lived on the bottom floor, and three Venezuelan nationals, 34-year-old Felix Lindore, Lorena Lopes, and Fahaliz Valentino who resided on the top flat.

A nearby one-flat wooden and concrete house owned by 45-year-old Parbattie Sewchand was also scorched from the radiated heat.
Following preliminary investigations, firefighters learnt that the fire was an electrical one.

“The cause of the fire was determined to be the overheating of an un-rated drop cord, which came into contact with nearby combustible materials, igniting the blaze,” the GFS stated.