Latest update March 12th, 2026 9:56 PM
Young teacher hospitalised, left homeless following fire caused by gas bottle explosion
– father appeals for assistance
(Kaieteur News) – Aniel King, 20 years old, of Mt. Sinai, New Amsterdam is currently hospitalised with burns about his body sustained from a devastating fire that destroyed his home completely on Tuesday afternoon.
The young man and his father, Ismael King, 48, lived alone in the two-storey wooden and partial concrete property all his life.
The destroyed residence.
The father, a well-known greens vendor in New Amsterdam, related to this publication on the evening of the incident, that he had earlier that morning prepared his son’s meal and subsequently went about his business on Tuesday on Strand, New Amsterdam. His son, a teacher at the Canje Secondary School, stopped by at about after 12:00 pm.
“He come by me bus this midday and I gave he $1,500. I tell he to buy a food if he want, and he left, and I left selling,” King shared.
Some two hours later, the vendor received a call informing him that his house was on fire, to which he rushed home in less than three minutes.
“When I come home, I see the whole place in flames. So I asked for my son, they said he deh somewhere across the road, and he come over… when I check he, he was burn up lil,” the devastated father shared.
The teacher told his father that he was cooking, but had fallen asleep. The young man said too that the gas bottle exploded shortly after, and the ignition quickly caught on to the inner dwellings. The young man received burns to his feet, hands, and a portion of his back, his father told Kaieteur News.
At the core of King’s frustration was the slothfulness of the New Amsterdam Fire Service. He said if they had arrived on time, his home could have been saved.
King inspecting the debris.
“The Fire Service is like five minutes’ drive away. The people said they called the fire service since the house was smoking. I could’ve reached here and the Fire Service ain’t reach here yet and me house in full flames. The Fire Service reach after me,” he lamented.
Nothing could have been retrieved from neither flats of the house by the time King arrived at the scene. All their valuables were destroyed by the fire, some of which included his savings of $250,000, and his injured son’s laptop, documents and school equipment. The property, he said, carried a worth of about $10 million. Crop from his backyard garden also perished in the blaze.
No adjacent property was damaged; the now destroyed residence stood just beside Angoy’s Avenue Health Centre.
Now homeless, Ismael King makes use of a hammock.
The vendor is distressed not only over the loss of his home, but also the harm that befell his son. He nevertheless remains grateful that they both are still alive.
Without much options, King is seeking assistance from the public for both of them since they are now homeless.
“I’m seeking assistance…a man have to work so hard to achieve these things in years wuh could disappear in hours and in minutes. It’s so painful but we just have to be strong and give God thanks, but I definitely need some assistance… it’s just me and my son. I’m actually like a single parent. I need help and my son need help. We need help physically, mentally and financially,” King pleaded.
Individuals can access him on 621-2010 if they would like to make any contribution to he and his son.’
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