Cedar Hill family of 12 homeless after fire

FIRE VICTIM Suzanna Cyrus, 66, was in tears when she spoke to the media on Wednesday.

On Tuesday around midday her home on Solomon Trace, Cedar Hill, Princes Town, caught fire. Within two hours it hadburnt to the ground.

The family was unable to save any of their belongings.

“At my age, where will I get a home?” Cyrus asked through her tears. As the head of the household, she said, she worked hard to provide for her family and was living happily with her children until this disaster.

Sherryann Cunjal, who is related to Cyrus, said the people of her community all came out with hoses and buckets to contain the fire, but it was too late.

“We were able to save the neighbour’s house from being destroyed, but we could not save anything belonging to the Cyrus family,” she said.

Councillor for Cedar Hill Sean Premchand was outside the house when Newsday visited.

“We at the Princes Town Regional Corporation (PTRC) reached out to the family, providing mattresses and foodstuff. We are now in the process of getting temporary accommodation for family members, as they all spent the night by relatives," he said.

He said the PTRC is working towards getting a re-building grant for Cyrus and her family.

The home is divided into three apartments and was occupied by 12 people, including Cyrus's four children and eight grandchildren.

Cyrus’s mother Violet Taitt, 90, who is wheelchair-bound, was so traumatised by the fire that she had to be taken to hospital by ambulance.