Fire destroys Enmore house

Nov 24, 2008 News 4

Everything that we had gone – occupant

A fire of unknown origin yesterday gutted a two storey house at Lot 192 BC Enmore, on the East Coast Demerara.

Latchmin Lalta (right) crying in disbelief

According to the occupants of the house, who were in Mahaicony at the horse races when the fire began, they suspect that the fire was sparked due to a faulty Guyana Power and Light (GPL) Company pole in the area.
“Jus before we leff fuh go Mahaicony I hear one a de posts mekking a ‘zing zing’ noise, and I seh I woulda call GPL so dey coulda come and look at it,” a relative told Kaieteur News.
She added that at approximately 16:30 hours yesterday she received the shocking news from her neighbours while she was in Mahaicony that her house was on fire. She said that they rushed down to Enmore as quickly as they could, only to find the building almost completely razed.
Residents of the area explained to Kaieteur News that the fire started at approximately 15:30 hours.
The six occupants of the house were visibly distraught and were seen openly wailing and crying as the impact of their loss hit home.

Residents of the area helping to search for jewellery in the rubble

According to Chandrouti Lalta, her family has been living in the house for approximately 45 years. She added that the house was not insured. “Everything dat we had gone,” said Chandrouti.
Holding her head in despair was Chandrouti’s mother, Latchmin Lalta, 63, who wailed and cried out every time she looked at the burnt remains of her home. Neighbours’ attempts to console her were to no avail.
Among the displaced persons is six-year-old Nenghram Netram, who was seen wandering around, oblivious to the impact of yesterday’s events.
The fire has left the family with no idea of where they would spend the next few nights, or how they would rebuild their lives.
After the Fire Service had extinguished the blaze, persons were seen sifting through the rubble, apparently in search of valuables which were in the house.
Neighbours said they believe that the fire started inside of the house. They highlighted that the Guyana Fire Service took a long time to respond to the fire. The neighbour to the north of the razed house said that his home sustained minimal damage. Some of the gutters on his house had melted, and many of his window panes had shattered due to heat the fire generated.

The razed house

He noted, however, that he had not ventured into his home since the fire started, and he was unsure of the extent of the water damage which his possessions in the house sustained.
The fire has prompted many of the residents of the East Coast to highlight that the fact that with the numerous housing schemes being established, there is need for a Fire Station on the East Coast of Demerara.