Man, 98, perishes in blaze close to Santa Cruz fire station

A 98-year-old man, a regular caller radio caller known as Mr Santa Cruz, died after a fire engulfed in his Santa Cruz home, located a short distance away from the district's fire station on Friday night.

Acting chief fire officer Andy Hutchinson said the body of visually-impaired Malcolm Diaz, was found lying on a bed in one of the bedrooms of the wood and concrete one-storey house on Rosemary Street, in Cantaro Village.

He said the Fire Service got a call reporting the fire at 6.55 pm. Units from Fire Service headquarters on Wrightson Road responded as there was no water tender at the Santa Cruz Fire Station, he said.

He said there was only an emergency tender for search and rescue operations at the Santa Cruz station.

Because of the lack of equipment at Santa Cruz, it took some time for fire officers to arrive on the scene, resulting in $1 million in damages to the building which was valued at $1.2 million.

Hutchinson said Diaz’s body had no direct burns and officers believe he died from smoke inhalation and the super-heated gas.

Diaz was known for being a regular caller to radio programmes and called himself Mr Santa Cruz.

In several social media posts, radio journalist Karla Amara Nagil wrote, “Dear Sky family and listeners of Sky 99.5fm...It is with a very heavy heart that I inform you that we have lost one of our oldest listeners...#MrSantaCruz. RIP my darling. Gone but never forgotten.”

When Sunday Newsday visited Rosemary Street on Saturday, a neighbour who wished to remain unidentified, said Diaz had around seven adult children but he was “particular” and did not want anyone living with him. She said he was well taken care of as neighbours and his children would often visit and take him to doctor's appointments, and he had a caretaker who would stay with him during the day.

He also had a security system which he would turn on at night. She said she heard the alarm go off at the first signs of smoke.

She said Diaz’ son, who lived in Chaguanas, had just left after visiting his father. Someone called him and told him about the fire and he returned distraught. He knew his blind father was locked in the house and he wanted to go in and save Diaz. So the neighbours had to restrain him.

She said she started to see smoke coming from the house around 6.30 pm. But by the time she ran into her house to call her sister and determine that the smoke was coming from the kitchen, the smoke had gotten thicker and darker. A few seconds later, the whole house was on fire.

“It didn’t have no water. We used water from the tank and, with buckets, we throw water on as much as we could to subdue the fire until the firemen come. But when we call the Santa Cruz fire station, no response.”

“That fire was blazing. All the road was pitch hot. So that (Santa Cruz) fire station is a waste of time so we're going to have a protest on Wednesday.”

She said they called the San Juan Fire Station next but it did not have a truck available, and finally they called the station at Wrightson Road.

She said because there was no pipe-borne water at the time, the fire hydrant, which stood directly in front of Diaz's house, was empty. Fortunately, she said the fire officers arrived quickly and with a water supply, and contained the fire before it did too much damage to the buildings on either side of Diaz's house.

“We grow up with Mr Diaz. He was a nice man. We had no trouble with him and we were there for him sometimes. He was a lively person and he was really intelligent. And I know him to be powerful.

“Sometimes he would have little break-ins and he would bawl out, he have a big mouth, and we would call the police quick. That’s why I was shocked. He didn’t bawl at all. That have me kinda confused because he bawls for everything.”

Hutchinson told Sunday Newsday people needed to look out for each other and caretakers needed to be more careful, especially when leaving the elderly home alone.

“We are having a number of fires with our elderly citizens being the main victims. We need to be more careful as a society about how we care for our elderly. When we leave them alone, be aware of what they have access to based on their capabilities and if we have anyone checking in on them from time to time, especially if we know we will be out for a while.

“The fires may not be caused by their direct action but it may be started otherwise and, with no one checking in on them, it may be too late by the time we discover the fire next door or down the street.”

Investigations into the cause of the fire are continuing.

In a Newsday interview in April, Chief Fire Officer Arnold Bristo said the Fire Service was exploring “cost-effective solutions” in procuring equipment from manufacturers with durable and cost-effective vehicles.

Also, at that time, National Security Minister Fitzgerald Hinds said two new fire tenders from the Netherlands were on the way to Trinidad.