Three people, including an 11-year-old girl, are now homeless after fire completely destroyed their home in Siparia just after midnight on Friday.
According to a police report, at about 12.30 am on Saturday, PC Maharaj and PC Lewis responded to a report of a house destroyed by fire at De Gannes Street.
Upon arrival, Maharaj met the house owner Peter Richards, 48, who told the officers that at about 12.15 am he and his wife Annisa Hosein were in a bedroom when they heard a crackling noise coming from another bedroom. Upon checking, Richards said he saw fire and smoke coming from the unoccupied bedroom.
Both Richards and his wife managed to escape unharmed. The couple’s daughter wasn’t home, as she was said to be overnighting at her grandmother’s home in Penal.
FSO Samaroo and FSSO Robinson and a party of fire officers from the Siparia Fire Station responded and extinguished the blaze. However, the house was already completely destroyed.
Speaking with Guardian Media yesterday, Hosein said her family lost everything to the fire. She said her husband told police that he lit a mosquito coil to treat with a mosquito infestation and believes that may have caused the blaze.
Hosein, who is a self-employed nail technician, said she recently started her business at her home as the COVID-19 pandemic had affected her business so much that her former landlady evicted her from her booth which she rented for several years at a building in San Fernando.
“After I was evicted, I collected my nail equipment from the landlady and fixed up a little space to the front of my house so that I can still run my business because I have my daughter to take care of as well. My husband does not have a permanent job, so everything is on me to run the household,” Hosein said.
“Now with this fire, whilst I thank God for life, I am asking for help to rebuild my home, my business and to see about my daughter, who is preparing for SEA exams…everything for school has been destroyed by the fire. All our clothes, appliances, everything gone.”
Anyone wishing to help Hosein can contact 316-5177.
