NY police probe fire which killed two Trinis

A WAKE AND funeral took place over the weekend for two Trinidadians killed in a fire in New York City last week. Adrian Katwaroo, 19, died of smoke inhalation Tuesday afternoon, three days after his father, Ashram Katwaroo, 49, died of smoke inhalation and burns in a fire that ripped through their Richmond Hill home on January 3. Firefighters said the blaze, which is under investigation, was possibly set off by gasoline poured in the vestibule (the front area of the entrance) of 111-09 Liberty Ave. Neighbours reported a gasoline odour in the area.  Police have questioned the owners. Adrian and Ashram Katwaroo were trapped in their third-floor apartment.

Ashram’s daughter, Linda Katwaroo, 24, who also lived there, was not at  home. The funeral took place at 10 am Saturday. Ashram Katwaroo, who emigrated from Trinidad with his family six years ago, was an auto mechanic. Adrian was a self-taught percussionist who had achieved success with the Angels Caribbean Band, a local calypso group. The seven-member band played at cultural festivals at Lincoln Centre and Flushing Meadows Corona Park, and had performed in Florida and Minnesota. Band members flocked to Adrian’s bedside at New York Weill Cornell Centre, counting on good fortune as he slowly slipped away. A newspaper quoted the band leader, Vinod Bisram as saying: “We had so much hope and we never gave up.” He said Katwaroo remained in a coma until his death.