Praying man accidentally sets fire to St James home

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A 60-year-old man who was said to be praying accidentally kicked down a lighted candle which caused a fire that quickly destroyed his split-level home in St James on Thursday.

According to a police report at about 4 pm Stephen Mahabir, who occupied the upstairs area of a two-storey concrete structure comprising three bedrooms both upstairs and downstairs, located at #40 Kandahar Street, St James, was praying to a statue where several candles were lit in the bedroom area.

Mahabir accidentally kicked down one of the candlesticks and as a result, his bed caught on fire.

The fire quickly engulfed the entire upstairs area.

Mahabir was pulled out from the upstairs area by a passerby who also informed the downstairs occupants – Franklyn Mahabir, 43; Ulric Singh, 45 and his family all of whom managed to leave the property unharmed.

Fire officers assigned to the Wrightson Road Fire Station, under the supervision of FSSO Roberts, visited the scene, controlled and extinguished the fire.

Mahabir had to be hospitalised at the St James Medical facility by EHS after he began to experience difficulty breathing.

Losses are still being assessed.