Overloaded electrical circuit, child playing with lighter caused fires in Sophia & South Ruimveldt

Two fires in the capital city on Tuesday rendered nine people homeless and the fire service is pleading with citizens to take the necessary precautions.

The first fire was reported at 14:05 hrs at Lot 126 “C” Field Sophia, Greater Georgetown. When the nine firefighters arrived at the scene, they found a two-storey wooden and concrete house engulfed in flames and smoke.

The building, occupied by 39-year-old Latoya Alexander and her three family members, was completely destroyed, leaving four persons homeless.

“The purported cause of the blaze is an overloaded electrical circuit, which resulted in arcing and sparking and the subsequent ignition of nearby combustible materials,” the fire service noted in a press release.

Shortly after, at approximately 14:37 hrs, another crew responded to another house fire, this time at Lot 480 Kiskadee Drive South Ruimveldt Gardens, Georgetown.

The two-storey wooden and concrete building was owned by 46-year-old Abigail Lynch, who lived there with her family of four.

Following the fire, the building and its contents were destroyed, leaving five persons homeless.

“The fire reportedly started after a child was playing with a lighter which led to naked flames coming into contact with an exercise book. The book fell and ignited nearby combustible materials,” the press release noted.

Additionally, another two-storey house next door suffered minor damage due to the fire.

The building, owned by Samuel Cameron and occupied by 35-year-old Ruth Hernandes, had 30 meters of polyvinyl chloride guttering slightly damaged due to radiated heat from the building of origin.