Trinidad: Wheelchair-bound 85-year-old dies in tragic house fire as 2 children escape

Trinidad and Tobago: In a tragic incident, an 85-year-old woman perished in a house fire which consumed her two-storey house while two children who were also inside managed to escape unharmed. The incident reportedly took place on Thursday evening in Laventille, Trinidad.

The deceased has been identified as Elise Morris, a resident of No. 31 Robinson Lane off Pashley Street and she was wheelchair-bound. At the time of the incident, the elderly woman was in the southern bedroom on the top floor when the blaze broke out around 8:26 pm on Thursday.

The incident came to light when neighbours who noticed the flames immediately raised the alarm which prompted the fire service to respond. Despite the quick arrival of fire service personnel from Morvant and Wrightson Road, the woman could not be rescued. The fire reportedly caused the floor of her bedroom to collapse and her body was later discovered on the ground floor under the bedroom along with her burnt wheelchair.

Reportedly, two children, aged 3 and 10, were inside the residence at the time of the incident and they rushed outside when the fire broke and remained unharmed. The residence, which was made of concrete and wood, suffered massive damage with the roof as well as interior being completely destroyed.

According to the investigators, the house had no electricity with lightning at night provided mainly candles which might be the reason behind the housefire. Alicia Morris, niece of the deceased said that she was at work when the fire started. She had left her two children and her aunt in the care of a caretaker. She returned home after neighbors alerted her to find the house engulfed in flames. “I came back immediately… it was devastating,” she said.

Local officials were quick to respond to the fire incident but could not save the elderly woman. Adanna Griffith-Gordon, councilor for the Success/Trou Macaque area, told i.a.n news she and her team were on-site from Thursday night, offering support to the family along with area MP Kareem Marcelle.