Fire destroys Rahaman Park home
By Kim Lucas
Stabroek News
March 20, 2003
Fire of unknown origin gutted a wooden building at Rahaman Park, East Bank Demerara yesterday afternoon, leaving at least 16 people homeless and hundreds of thousands of dollars in damage.
At the time of the blaze, several members of the Ramsarran household were at home, but said they were unsure as to how the fire had started. Some speculated that the blaze might have been caused by sparking wires.
The building was divided into three apartments, with Terry Ramsarran, his wife and their five children living in the eastern section of the upper flat; while his sister-in-law, Pansy Ramsarran and her four children occupied the western half. Ramsarran’s sister, ‘Radha’, lived downstairs with her two offspring.
When Stabroek News arrived on the scene, members of the Guyana Fire Service were still attempting to bring the blaze at Lot 15 Rahaman Park under control. The 33-year-old Pansy Ramsarran told this newspaper that she had just returned home from work, when she saw her section of the house on fire. She had left her four children at home, since there was no school due to the teachers’ strike.
“I come home... [and] my part of the house, it in flames. They say it is electrical, but nobody was upstairs,” the distraught woman stated.
Her 14-year-old daughter, Alicia, was fetching water at the time to wash, while her 16-year-old son had gone out. Pansy said her two youngest children - ages seven and four - were playing in the yard when the fire broke out. This was corroborated by neighbours.
Meanwhile, Terry Ramsarran said he was barely awoken from his slumber by his wife’s screams.
“I was sleeping and me wife was selling out there and hear she calling for me, ‘Fire!’ Well, I jump up out me sleep and run in the yard and see the fire over there,” he said pointing to Pansy’s section, “I had some water, I throw it over there and run outside hollering for, ‘Help! Help! Water!’ and run across there and the fire start more... I [couldn’t] save nothing for she at all,” the man recounted.
However, Terry said he managed to save some of his own household items, and some belonging to Radha. Pansy estimated her loss to be substantial, since she had recently bought a number of items.
“Everything gone - computer, two settee, I buy [an] entertainment set from Keishar’s for Christmas, I buy a big set, a bed, carpet... everything,” the woman said as she summed up her losses.
She ruled out the possibility of the fire originating from any cooking, since, according to the woman, her kitchen was in a separate building from the house and that was intact after the blaze.
