Family homeless after Princes Town fire

Single mother Keisha Marcano watched helplessly as fire destroyed her family’s two-storey Princes Town home yesterday, leaving her, her two children, a male relative and two cats homeless.

Marcano, 41, of St Croix Road, told Newsday it happened so fast they could not save anything.

"I have nothing. When I realised the house was on fire, I stood in amazement. I did not know what to do. I could not believe that it was my house going up in flames. I was in real shock," Marcano said.

The construction worker said at about 5.30 am while preparing to cut the grass in the yard she began smelling smoke. She lived on the top floor with her daughters, Afeisha, 24, and 13-year-old Jada — a student of Barrackpore East Secondary. Her cousin, Lennox, lived alone downstairs and was not at home at the time.

The cats are Brownie and Whitie.

The woman said her cousin is accustomed to burning trash and she assumed the smell was due to that.

"I did not take it on, although I kept getting the smell. Normally, I would go to see what he was the lighting. But this time I did not go and check. I started cutting the yard and then I saw the fire. The house was in flames in two twos. It was really nice that fire officers reached very fast."

Despite the prompt response by Princes Town fire officers, the house was destroyed.

Relatives said it started when the cousin lit a candle downstairs and it fell on a mattress.

"He thought he had out it. This was a concrete and wood house and I am living here all my life. I have nothing and even my phone is gone."

Anyone willing to help the Marcano family can contact Newsday south office at 607-4979.