Elderly pastor dies in Berbice fire

Last Updated on Monday, 10 April 2017, 9:24 by Denis Chabrol

An elderly pastor was burnt to death early Monday morning in his home at Kildonan Village, Corentyne.

Fire Chief Marlon Gentle said the fire began in the kitchen of the wooden house, and the charred remains of 84-year old Rudolph Ross were found in his bedroom. The upper flat of the house was grilled, he said.

“I am working on the theory that something was left on in the kitchen,” Gentle told Demerara Waves Online News.

Gentle said fire fighters responded from Rose Hall, the closest location, but by the time they reached the scene the house was already destroyed.

Neighbours, the Fire Chief said, tried to contact the Guyana Fire Service on 911 but no one answered. He said someone dialed 912 and the emergency was relayed from Georgetown to Rose Hall.

Investigators, according to sources,  were told that the pastor’s son occasionally stayed with him but he could not be immediately contacted.