Exploding car destroys $.25M house

SAN FERNANDO detectives are investigating a suspected arson attack which has left a Debe family of seven homeless,  among them a couple who are in their eighties. 

The fire, police sources said, is believed to have originated from the family car which was parked under the house at Ramjattan-Maharaj Trace, Debe. Investigators have since seized a broken and soot-stained bottle found near the vehicle. It is believed that flames from the car, ignited the house and razed it to the ground. The family said the fire left behind over $250,000 in damage which included the value of the building and its contents. The burnt car, a Nissan March, was worth $22,000. Eighty-six-year-old Bissoon Gopaulsingh lived in the house with his family — his wife, Rookmin, 80, his two sons and their families. Gopaulsingh told police he secured his house around 9 pm on Monday and retired to bed. Shortly after midnight, he was awakened by a loud explosion, and upon investigating the noise, was faced with flames engulfing his two-storey wooden and concrete home.  The family made a mad dash for safety and could not retrieve any of their property from the fast burning house. Shocked relatives told Newsday that all that was saved from the fire were the clothes they were wearing.

Fire tenders from the Mon Repos and San Fernando Fire Stations responded to the report, but were unable to save the building. Yesterday, the pensioner’s grandson, Neil Singh, who lives next door, told Newsday that before the fire started, he noticed two strangers lurking in the area. Police are yet to find out the cause of the fire, which from preliminary investigations seems to be arson. Investigators said they intend to take the burnt bottle and soil samples to the Forensic Science Centre for specialised testing. PC Don Gajadhar is investigating.