Major fire in Guyana leaves seven homeless, three buildings destroyed

Guyana: A major fire on Sunday has completely destroyed three buildings and severely damaged one other. The fire took place at Lot 10 North Sophia, Greater Georgetown, confirmed by the Guyana Fire Service and it left at least seven individuals homeless.

According to the information, officers from the Fire Service received a report late in the evening and upon arrival at the scene, they observed that one motorcycle was completely destroyed, one building was fully engulfed and others were threatened.

Firefighters responded immediately as they carried out firefighting, rescue and recovery operations. Three water tenders were deployed and were used to extinguish the fire.

A team from the Guyana Police Service was also dispatched to the incident site which revealed that preliminary investigations carried out on the cause of the fire disclosed that the fire was maliciously set by an unknown person(s). The origin of the fire was the motorcycle which later spread to the other building.

The officials further said that investigations are continuing as efforts are made to identify those responsible for the suspected act of arson.

Images and videos from the incident show the massive fire spreading quickly before it was contained by the firefighters. The incident has left the community in shock with locals taking to Facebook to express their concerns and urging the authorities to find the suspects.

“Whenever I see a fire in Guyana, I know it was started by them; they set fire to their own houses so they'd get a new one,” said a local named Isabel Tina Beria while another user said, “Imagine not having a home to sleep in tonight. Those houses were built too clustered, never liked the idea.” One also said that people are suffering so much from the fire.

As the investigations into the incident continue, officials are urging locals to assist them with the same and come forward if they have information related to the recent fire.