Injuries keep two members of San Fernando 'hero family' off work

Two members of the Oudit family have been unable to go to work because of injuries they suffered while rescuing 31-year-old Nicolette Francis from a burning house in San Fernando on Saturday night.

A piece of glass pierced Dexter Oudit’s left foot. The 59-year-old works at the San Fernando City Corporation.

He first heard the then-unidentified woman screaming and saying she was trapped inside the apartment building next to the San Fernando Methodist School at Mon Chagrin Street.

His daughter Stephanie told Newsday on Wednesday, "On the night of the incident, the EHS people cleaned up the wound. He has diabetes, and it is paining him a lot. So he did not go to work for the week,"

She said he did not go to the hospital for additional care.

Her brother Samuel, who used a sledgehammer to break down the front doors, was hit with the tool. He bags ice at King’s Wharf in San Fernando.

She said, "He cannot move his hands properly. It is swollen. He cannot work in that condition.

Nevertheless, speaking on behalf of the family, she said despite the setback, they are still delighted to have saved a life.

"If we did not do something, she would have roasted like a manicou. People are calling us the superhero family."

Up to Wednesday, Francis, the injured mother of three, from El Guanapo Estate in Rio Claro, was said to be in a stable condition in hospital.

Members of the Oudit family said they read an article in Newsday in which Francis’s sister thanked them for doing the right thing. Apart from also receiving a message on Instagram from someone believed to be one of her relatives, they have not heard from Francis’s family.

The cause of the fire is yet to be determined. No one has been arrested, and San Fernando police are investigating.