Maloney family to return home soon

HOUSING and Urban Development Minister Camille Robinson-Regis said a Maloney family affected by a recent fire will be back in their home by next Wednesday.

In a WhatsApp conversation with Newsday on Tuesday, the minister said the fire services had given clearance to the Housing Development Corporation (HDC) to enter the apartment to clean up. Teams from the Unemployment Relief Programme and CEPEP will begin on Wednesday.

Robinson-Regis said the family is currently at a guest house in the constituency and will return to their unit once it is ready. She expressed gratitude to the Tunapuna/Piarco Regional Corporation's (TPRC) Disaster Management Unit and said the family is doing well.

The fire, at Building 11, Maloney Gardens, D'Abadie, on December 6, left the family of three temporarily homeless. No injuries were reported.

In a statement released last Thursday, the HDC said it was caused by a gas tank that caught fire while baking, around 7.40 pm.

The fire services were called and the fire was put out.

The corporation said the family was accommodated overnight and in collaboration with the HDC, it provided them with food, water and other essentials.

The release said the extent of the damage will be assessed, including potential water damage to units next to and below the affected apartment.