Caparo warehouse destroyed, family home gutted in $M fire

Fire officers investigating the incident say the incident could be attributed to a nearby bush fire which started near the warehouse at about 4 pm at New Gunness Trace, Caparo Village, near Longdenville.

According to a police report, Nikita Roopchan, her husband Beedesh and son Valmikki had gone to Maracas Beach. Police said earlier in the day residents had telephoned the fire station in Chaguanas and reported that there was a bush fire which was spreading towards the warehouse. By the time fire officers arrived, the fire had engulfed the warehouse and had begun spreading to the house.

Fire officers broke open the house and disconnected the gas lines to the stove. According to the fire officers, this prevented the house from going up in flames.

However, the house was gutted with most of the family’s appliances and furniture being destroyed.

Speaking with Newsday yesterday, Roopchan said, “It was while at the beach we got a telephone call that there was a bush fire near to us but which was under control. Only minutes later we received another call that the warehouse was on fire. We immediately left the beach and kept hoping and praying that there would be some miracle and we would not have been affected.

It was not so.” She said when she and her husband and child arrived on the scene, they saw thick black smoke coming from their house.

Her voice cracking with emotion, Roopchan said, “The smoke was too much for me so I stayed in the car with our son. I could see the glass windows shattering and the wall cracking.” The family also owned several vehicles but they were all burnt.

“These vehicles are our bread and butter. How will we make our money to provide for our family? It is really hard to know that in the blink of an eye we are now left without a place to stay...just like that.” Her son seemed oblivious to fate that had befallen his parents as he played with a toy car.

“He does not know what is going on. He is too young to understand.

We don’t even know where we will be staying for the night.”