Three children, trapped in house, die in Mocha fire

Three young children died early Thursday morning while trapped in a burning wooden house located in the community of Barnwell, aback Mocha on the East Bank of Demerara (EBD), Fire Chief (ag.) Gregory Wickham has confirmed.

The News Room understands that the children are aged eight, six and one; their mother was not at home at the time.

The Fire Chief told the News Room that the Guyana Fire Service received reports of the fire at around 01:25 hrs. Soon after, two fire tenders were dispatched to the scene.

The firefighters attempted to quickly extinguish the fire, however, they were delayed as the fire tenders were unable to traverse the deplorable roadway at Barnwell.

Wickham said firefighters were forced to go to the burning building on foot.

“They had to walk quite a few metres in order to get to the scene because the terrain could not afford them to drive,” he explained.

But the children, who were alone and trapped in the house, perished.

Wickham said that investigations into the cause of the fire are ongoing.