Trinidad: Fire truck breakdown leaves 54-year-old Ian dead in house fire

Trinidad and Tobago: Tragic house fire in Las Cuevas, claimed the life of a 54-year-old Ian in the early hours of Tuesday morning. After a fire truck on route failed to reach the scene in time due to the vehicles breakdown, leaving Ian to burn in the house as his son narrowly escaped. 

The tragic incident allegedly took place off Rincon Road in Las Cuevas along the rural area of North Coast, where the blaze was ignited as he was cooking. 

According to reports the victim along with his 18-year-old son were both in the house when Ian who was cooking allegedly fell asleep whilst the stove was on, leading to an explosion from the stove and the house catching fire. 

His 18-year-old son managed to narrowly escape the blazing house, but tragically Ian remained trapped inside. 

The San Juan Fire Station emergency services were alerted and a unit was dispatched to the scene. However the unit did not manage to make it, due to mechanical failure in the fire truck  which was just one corner away from Ian's home. 

The fire fighters did try to call for backup from the Wrightson Road Fire Headquarters in Port of Spain but they were miles away from the scene, and by the time they arrived they only found wreckage as everything had been burned to a crisp including Ian whose charred remains were uncovered at the scene. 

Tragedy sparks public outrage

The heartbreaking incident has sparked public outrage and concerns over the delayed response from the emergency fire fighters,  along with the breakdown of their operational vehicles over the reliability of emergency response and equipment. Particularly in reaching the affected remote and vulnerable areas like the North Coast in time. 

Authorities are yet to make any statement over the cause of Ian's death or the vehicle breakdown  that led to failure to respond in time to save the victim. Ian’s remains have been taken for autopsy.