Venezuelan woman arrested after Bartica Arcade house destroyed by fire  

A Sunday afternoon fire destroyed a wooden cottage at Bartica Arcade along the Essequibo River.

The building was abandoned by the owner, 68-year-old Alfred Wyatt, and was frequently inhabited by vagrants.

According to Seeyone Lindore, a 45-year-old businessman of Bartica Arcade, at about 17:30hrs, he was at the Arcade when he observed smoke emanating from the said building.

He saw Carmen Cristina Ruiz, a Venezuelan national, running out of the yard and screaming: “It was an accident”.

Lindore raised an alarm and contacted the Police, and ranks immediately responded to the scene, as did the Guyana Fire Service.

However, by that time, the building was completely destroyed.

Ruiz, who had decided to occupy the building, was contacted by the Police and questioned.

She alleged that at about 16:30hrs, she left Bartica Arcade and went to a Chinese Supermarket to purchase groceries, and on her return to the house, she observed the mattress on fire.

Ruiz said she attempted to pull the mattress out of the house but was unable to do so as the fire quickly spread. She then ran to safety. No other buildings were damaged.

The house was not fitted with electricity, nor was it insured. The cost is unknown at this time. Ruiz is presently in custody, assisting with the investigation.