Pensioner, children among six homeless after fire guts NA house

A pensioner and three children are among six persons who are now homeless after a fire of unknown origin destroyed their two-storey concrete and wooden house Sunday morning.

The house, located at King Street, New Amsterdam, Region Six, was owned by Doreen Thom, 84. The woman lived there with her daughter, 40-year-old Alana Joseph, her three children and Rederson Jarvis, who is presently overseas.

Police, in a statement, revealed that the fire started at about 04:30h while the family was asleep.

Joseph, who is the engineer attached to the New Amsterdam Town Council, reported that she woke up with flames in her bedroom and quickly alerted her mother and children and escaped the burning building.

The fire service was called to the scene and managed to extinguish the fire but the upper flat of the house was already destroyed. The News Room understands that firefighters initially had difficulties sourcing water to quell the fire.

The family did not manage to save anything.