Gasparillo fire leaves landlord, tenant homeless

A fire in Gasparillo on Saturday afternoon destroyed a house, leaving a man and his tenant homeless.

The police said neither the landlord Jonathan Rahim nor the tenant Nigel Jones was at the house at Maharaj Street when the fire broke out.

Within minutes the two-storey wooden and concrete house was burnt to the ground.

No injuries were reported.

At the scene, Jones, 33, looked at the house ruins in disbelief. He said he had been living alone in the one-bedroom ground-floor apartment for the past three years.

Jones added he had plans to relocate and recently bought a few household items.

“I got a call at 12.50 pm that the house was on fire. I was on the other street and came one time. In less than a second, everything was gone. I don’t know what started the fire, but the flames were everywhere,” Jones said.

“To start from all over is very hard. I bought a few items for the house, and I was trying to save enough money to pay for three straight months when I get a new apartment. I was looking to move out of here.”

Jones said he does not know his next move and would appreciate help from anyone.

He works in the construction industry doing ceiling and auger work.

The cause of the fire is not yet known, and Gasparillo police are investigating.

Anyone who wants to help can call Newsday at 607-4929 ext 4226.