An 85-year-old woman and her nine-year-old granddaughter were injured in a fire that razed their Belmont home yesterday morning.
According to reports, around 9 am Winnyfred Labon and granddaughter Tamara Williams were at their home at the Crescent, Quarry Street, Belmont, when a fire started in the downstairs kitchen.
Neighbours gathered buckets and rushed to the family’s assistance as they waited on fire officers to arrive. However, they were unable to provide much assistance as there was no water at the time.
By the time tenders from the Belmont Fire Station arrived on the scene, the family’s home was totally engulfed in flames. The fire-fighters were able to prevent the fire from spreading to neighbour’s homes.
Labon and Williams sustained burns as they were evacuating their modest two-storey home, which they shared with four other relatives. They were taken to the Port-of-Spain General Hospital where they remained warded up to midday yesterday.
Speaking with a team from the T&T Guardian hours after the fire, Labon’s nephew Alban Frank said he was working at a neighbour’s house when he heard of the fire.
Frank said it started as his niece was lighting the stove to cook breakfast. He too complained that the damage would have been less if neighbours had water to form a bucket brigade.
“All I had was two buckets of water to throw. We have a water problem, if we had water we could have done something,” Frank said.
He could not estimate the cost of the damage, but said that he and his relatives lost everything they owned.
“I will have to take a rest by the neighbours. Maybe they would feel sorry for me and give me something to eat and wear,” Frank said.
He said the only item he was able to save was the tool kit he was using at the time.
Members of the public who can provide assistance to the family can contact them at 328-7570.
Meanwhile, police are investigating the death of an Aranguez man who died in a fire at his home early yesterday morning.
Fire officers received a report of fire at a small wooden structure off Johnny King Road, Aranguez. They were able to quickly extinguish the blaze but it had already destroyed a significant portion of the house.
They later found the victim’s remains while searching the ruins. The victim, who residents described as a recluse and called “Sancho,” was not identified up to late yesterday.
Fire investigators believe the man was smoking a cigarette while lying bed and may have suffered a stroke.
Investigations are continuing.