Fire renders seven homeless

Renita Chablal, 18, broke down in tears yesterday after she returned from writing an A’ Level examination and found her house on fire. She was among seven persons rendered homeless by the fire which destroyed two houses, one of which consisted of three apartments,  at SSErin Road, Debe,  at about 3 pm. The cause of the fire, which is estimated to cost over  $700,000 in damages, is still to be ascertained. Chablal, a pupil of the Pleasantville Senior Comprehensive School, lived in one of the apartments with her father, Tom Ramcharan, mother, Rosalyn Rojas and brother, Ryan Chablal, 22.  Vinode Sinanan, his brother, sister-in-law and their child occupied the other two apartments.

The other house was owned by Krishna Ramjattie who had rented it to a man known only as Rudolph, who was not at home when the fire started. Chablal’s father, Ramcharan, who was home alone told Newsday he was asleep in his bedroom when he felt a heat. Ramcharan said when he awoke he saw the house next door on fire. He ran out of the house screaming fire. “The breeze was real strong and the fire spread to our apartment  real fast,” he added. Ramcharan said he lost $6,000 in cash and over $50,000 in household articles. A crying Chablal said she lost $200 which she had in her bedroom to pay for her exam. “I don’t know what to do. All my books burn. How am I going to study?” she sobbed. Chablal’s next examination is on Tuesday.

The other tenant, Sinanan, said no one was home when the fire started. He said he had planned to move out of the apartment soon and estimated his losses to run into thousands of dollars. Geeta Ali,  who lived next door to Ramjattie’s house, said the fire brigade arrived in time to extinquish the flames before the fire could spread to her house. Ali, who runs a business downstairs her home, said the fire cracked her wall and burnt the spout on the side of the house. Fire officers of the San Fernando Fire Headquarters and policemen attached to the Debe Police Post and San Fernando Police Station visited the scene. Investigations are continuing.