Two families homeless after Gasparillo fire

Five people from two families became homeless after a fire in Gasparillo on Wednesday morning.

Within minutes, the entire two-storey wooden and concrete structure at Alma Street, off Lumsden Street in Bonne Aventure, was completely gutted.

Reports are at around 11 am, a fire broke out on the top floor and quickly spread. At the time, a woman was in the house with her nine-year-old granddaughter.

The two ran out of the burning house and alerted people nearby. The girl’s mother lived on the top floor but was not home.

Construction worker Sterling Mc Eachrane, 44, lived on the ground floor with his wife. He recalled that they, too, managed to get out of the house.

He added he was recovering from a broken leg and could not salvage anything.

“I tried to get back inside, but the heat and smoke were too much. I could not save anything. Right now, I am unemployed. We lost everything. I do not know what my next move is. I am willing to take any help that I can get,” Mc Eachrane said.

Councillor for Gasparillo/Bonne Aventure Ravi Pooran Maharaj told Newsday that members of the disaster management unit of the Couva/ Tabaquite/ Talparo Regional Corporation visited the scene and would be providing immediate relief.

He added that further assessments are to be continued on Thursday.

The cause of the fire is yet to be determined.

Gasparillo police are investigating.