Fire leaves two homeless

Last Updated on Saturday, 26 December 2015, 21:01 by GxMedia

Fire of unknown origin late Saturday afternoon destroyed a wooden house in Sophia, leaving in its wake millions of dollars in destruction and two persons homeless.

Fire Chief Marlon Gentle told Demerara Waves Online News (www.demwaves.com) that four persons were homeless and the cause of the fire was not immediately known.

However, other sources identified the occupants of the house at 190 Section D, Sophia as Mark Smith and his wife. Reacting to accusations that electricity theft might have been the cause of the fire, Smith told DemWaves “that’s not true. I did not have any connection at the time.” Smith estimates his losses at GUY$3 million. Other sources said the fire could have been the work of an arsonist.

He was not at home at the time of the blaze. The Guyana Fire Service received a fire call shortly after 5 PM.

One of the fire tenders from Campbelville Fire Station broke down at the scene after the fire was extinguished.

The Guyana Power and Light (GPL) has attributed revenue loss partly to electricity theft. The Inter American Development Bank (IDB) has in the past registered its deep concern about the stealing of electricity.