Princes Town fire victims cry for help

Kerri Ramlal, who had been renting one of the apartments for the past nine years, lived there with her 12-year-old son, Christian Beckles. Also tenants at one of the apartments were Patricia Mitchell, her sons Terrence and Kerneil Mitchell and her nieces Avian Mitchell and Shanele Ali.

Patricia, a security officer with Amalgamated Security Limited, and Ramlal were unable to secure a Fire Certificate and were told to return to the Princes Town Fire Station on September 23.

Ramlal, a librarian works at the Rio Claro Library.

“I need to get the the Fire Certificate in order to seek leave from my work and also to apply for help from the government,” Ramlal said. However, she is thankful for the assistance already provided by friends and relatives who have donated clothes and food items for both herself and her son. She noted that Christian has already gotten uniforms and school supplies from relatives and she hopes he can resume attending school on Monday. Patricia also visited the University of Trinidad and Tobago (UTT) where Avian attends.

“All her sporting gear and school material were destroyed and we had to go in to UTT to inform administration of the disaster,” Patricia said.Ramlal is now appealing to Minister of Housing, Randall Mitchell, to assist Patricia and herself. “We would not be able to stay at the home of relatives for long,” she said, adding that she now has to travel from San Fernando to Rio Claro for work.