Three children perish in fire

Three children ages four, three and two perished when fire swept through their wooden house at Morne Coco Road, Petit Valley around 7 am yesterday. The charred remains of the victims — Alexis Mohammed, four, Leslie Mohammed, three, and Jasoon Mcintosh, two, were discovered crouched under a kitchen cupboard at their tiny home. The 25-year old mother of the children Elizabeth Mohammed was treated at the Port-of-Spain General Hospital and warded for shock. When Sunday Newsday visited the scene of the tragedy, Fire and Police officers were busy searching for clues to determine how the fire started. Fire officers and other investigators were forced to climb a steep hill with slippery terrain to get to the scene of the fire . Reports revealed that around 4 am yesterday Jason Mcintosh, 27, and his common-law wife Elizabeth left their home on the hills of Morne Coco Road with a one-year-old baby boy with produce to sell at the Port-of-Spain Market. They left Alexis, Leslie and Jason asleep in a bedroom at the house and had hoped to sell their produce and return home before the children got up. Around 7 am Junior Mcintosh, Jason’s brother was liming with friends when he saw smoke coming from the wooden structure.

Junior and others rushed to the house and called out to the children but they got no answer. Efforts to extinguish the fire proved futile. Within minutes the entire house was engulfed in flames. Officers of the Four Roads Fire Station were alerted but by the time they arrived the house was already burnt flat. A check was carried out by the fire officers who discovered the charred remains of the three children where the kitchen once stood. Relatives of the dead children were able to contact the parents of the children and when they arrived at the scene of the fire Elizabeth collapsed and was rushed to the Port-of-Spain General Hospital. Neighbours of the couple expressed sadness of the death of the children and said that both Elizabeth and her husband Jason worked very hard in the garden tending to their crops which was their only source of livelihood. They claimed that it was due to the financial hardships that the couple were forced to leave the children at home and eke out a living selling produce at the Port-of-Spain Market. The house where the couple lived with their four children had no electricity.
  
Acting Divisional Fire Officer Bethelmy, who visited the scene of the fire said that initial investigations revealed that the deaths could be classified as accidental. He has ruled out arson. Investigators believe that a lighted candle may have started the fire. Bethelmy told Sunday Newsday that the deaths of the three children should send a message to those parents who leave their children at home unsupervised, they can expect any tragedy to take place. He said children should be supervised at all times even in circumstances where poverty exists. He added that children are helpless and cannot deal with situations where they are confronted by fire or any other dangers. Sunday Newsday attempted to locate the mother and father of the dead children at the Port-of-Spain General Hospital but they could not be located. A nurse at the casualty department said that the mother of the children was being treated for shock. Officers of the West End Police Station are investigating.