Neighbours rescue grandmother from burning house

Neighbours Monday rescued a La Penitence, Georgetown grandmother after a fire destroyed her Middle Road property.

The house belonged to 71-year-old Norma Clarke; she lived there with her two sons, four grandchildren and another relative.

They are all now homeless. Neighbours in the area said they saw fire emanating from the left side of the two-storey building at about 15:00hrs on Monday.

The woman’s 47-year-old son, Shawn Clarke, said he was at work when he heard about the fire and rushed home.

“By [the] time I rush to come down here I couldn’t save anything, I couldn’t do anything…just watch the firefighters them try to out the fire,” Shawn, an electrician, said.

Clarke told the News Room Tuesday that neighbours rescued his mother from the kitchen at the back of the house, but they were unable to save anything.

Shawn lived in an apartment at the bottom flat of the house. He said the family suffered millions of dollars in losses.

“My apartment – everything inside – burn up. We had a music set… TV, fridge, bed, wardrobes, all my clothes burn up,” Shawn said.

The family lived in the house for over 20 years. Shawn said he believed the building could have been saved if the fire service had enough water.

“The [fire service] come without water; as soon as they start to spray they run out of water and the building get more worse,” Shawn said.

Shawn said his mother and the children are currently staying at the home of relatives, while he is staying inside a shop in the yard.

“When I came the neighbours say they just saw the fire and they come out and try to get people alert. But this is [an] area people does hardly be dwelling round, so them aint get no fast assistance,” Shawn said.

He said the family will accept any form of assistance and they will be working to build back their home. Anyone willing to assist the family can contact Shawn Clarke on +592 698 5309.