[UPDATED] Blind man escapes Port of Spain fire

What started off as a peaceful Tuesday afternoon turned into a dash for survival as a 65-year-old blind man narrowly escaped death by fire at his apartment.

Newsday visited 26 Independence Square, Port of Spain, where a group of residents were comforting Angelo Joseph.

Joseph, who is blind from glaucoma, told Newsday he was saying his afternoon prayers when he heard a commotion outside his door.

“I heard as if people were running around outside and I heard a sound like something was cracking.

“When I opened the door of my apartment, I felt an intense heat. I didn’t know what to do.”

He climbed to the roof of the building through a window.

“I remembered the building by heart and climbed to the top.

“I wasn’t really scared. I knew it wouldn’t do me any good to panic. I just wanted to get away from the smoke.”

Joseph said he stayed on the roof for about 20 minutes until another tenant, identified only as “Keisha,” helped him down from the building.

Despite the obvious danger, Jospeh was sure he would be safe.

“I was praying at the time when I smelled the smoke, so I had faith that God would deliver me out of this.”

He hoped his apartment was still in habitable condition, as he had nowhere else to live. Joseph said he had been living at the building for about a year and felt it was just a matter of time before an accident like this happened. He said he foresaw it.

“There was no fire escape and there is a water problem. Upstairs is like a prison where everyone has a cell and we each have a key for our cell.”

One of Joseph’s former neighbours, Rosita Thomas, said she happened to be on Independence Square when she saw smoke coming from the building.

“I knew he relocated to this building, so I ran towards the building to make sure he was okay, and fortunately he was. “I’m really happy he is safe and sound. God guided him off of that building, because it wasn’t his time.”

Newsday spoke to acting Chief Fire Officer Marlon Smith, who was at the scene.

He said several people were trapped in the building but managed to escape before the fire service arrived.

He also confirmed no one was injured, as the fire was confined to the front part of the second storey.

He said the fire service would begin an investigation to determine the cause of the fire.

The building housed tenants upstairs and there was a commercial property on the ground floor.

But Smith said: “At the entrance of the building there is a clear sign which states this is a commercial building.

“So if there were residents inside, this would be contrary to what was stated outside the building. But we will have to look into that afterwards.”

Newsday understands a woman was detained in relation to the blaze as it was suspected she set fire to a mattress over a dispute relating to break-ins at the building.