At least ten families were left homeless last night after a fire destroyed 10 homes in Sea Lots, Port-of-Spain.
Sea Lots residents quickly stepped in to start a bucket brigade when they realised fellow residents were in distress after the fire started just after 5.20 pm. However, they and the fire-fighters who arrived on the scene thereafter could do little to save the structures
Neighbours said they were unsure of how many people were displaced by the fire afterwards.
Fire prevention officers were up until late last night attempting to determine the cause of the fire.
When a T&T Guardian team visited the area, scores of residents had crowded the area to catch a glimpse of the fire-fighters in action.
The EHS was called in as one man suffered minor burns to his left leg, another person fell unconscious and an older man complained of heart problems.
Traffic slowed to a crawl on the Beetham Highway as motorists slowed down or stopped to see what was happening.
Francis Frederick, 73, a pensioner whose home was destroyed, said all he had left was the short pants he was dressed in.
“I was at home watching TV when I heard a cracking noise. When I look I see the house next door to me on fire,” he said.
Fredericks said he ran out of the house as the fire quickly spread.
“If I could get a house and furniture because all I have gone through,” he said, noting he had nowhere to go.
Resident Crystal Buddy said she too was hoping for assistance as the fire partially destroyed her house. She said she took her five children to her mother’s house for the night.
“It didn’t burn down flat but the walls and some of the things. I have two houses and I want to finish my home and I won’t mind getting assistance,” she said.
She said it could have been worse had it not been for the bucket brigade the residents started.
“It (the sea) nearby and a lot of people came and used buckets. The Fire Service didn’t come yet. Real people come and it was spreading and they use the sea water,” she said.