BREAKING: Fire destroys house, elderly man displaced

Last Updated on Thursday, 25 June 2020, 9:52 by Denis Chabrol

A fire Thursday morning destroyed a house at Fort and Barrack Streets, Kingston, Georgetown, leaving an 81-year old man homeless.

Mr. Harry Charran, who is a gardener at CGX Energy in Queenstown, Georgetown said he left home at about 6:30 AM and later received a call that his wooden house was burning.

Fire fighters removed a gas cylinder from the premises after bringing the blaze under control. The smell of cooking gas filled the air but Charran was not certain whether he turned off the stove. “To my knowledge, I turned off my stove and nobody else live there that uses the stove,” but he acknowledged that he was unsure whether he turned off the cooking apparatus.

Fire tenders arrived on the scene with water and prevented the blaze from spreading to nearby buildings, but after their supplies were exhausted , they experienced severe difficulty in pumping and distributing water to fire fighters because equipment malfunctioned.

Charran lived alone. One of his children, who was at the scene, said his father refused to allow him to live with him.

Now, Charran said he would be  seeking refuge at his son who lives at West Demerara.

He lived at the now burnt house for  22 years. The building was not insured but Charran said if it could be repaired he would do  so.