Blackest Friday – Cunupia man loses wife, mother, home to fire on his birthday

IT was the blackest of Fridays for a Cunupia family as a fire claimed the lives of Angela Ali, 53, and her daughter-in-law Ambika Carerra-Ali, 30 on September 13.

The duo were at their Persad Avenue, Mon Plasir, home with a male relative when the fire broke out at around 11 am on September 13.

Newsday was told the male relative was the first to become aware of the fire.

He was in the kitchen at the time and alerted the two women to the smoke before escaping.

After exiting the house, though, he realised the two women were still inside and had become trapped.

His screams for help alerted neighbours who tried to help the women, but were unable to get them out in time.

The roof of the house and its wooden ceiling eventually collapsed trapping the women.

Their charred remains were found on the floor of the gallery on the northern side of the house. They had died as they were attempting to get out of the house through the locked gallery.

The surviving relative was taken to hospital.

Ali was the owner of a furniture and appliance store in St James but recently closed it down, while Ambika was a caterer.

Javid Ali, Ali’s son and Ambika’s husband, celebrated his birthday on September 13 and the family was preparing to have a lime at the house over the weekend.

He rushed home after receiving the news and was unable to speak with the media as he stood in silence surrounded and comforted by friends and family, mourning the death of his wife and his mother.

Meanwhile, Ali’s husband, Nizam Ali, a general manager at AMCO Chaguanas, was surrounded by co-workers who came to show their support.

This was the first day of his vacation and he had just left the home to run some errands when he got the call that his house was on fire.

By the time he returned, his wife and daughter-in-law were already dead.

Most of the relatives at the scene were in tears and unable to speak with the media after the tragedy.

As the undertakers removed their bodies, Ali’s elderly mother broke down and began sobbing uncontrollably and lamented that she would never see her daughter again.

The family was described by neighbours as “good people” and they said they were always pleasant with everyone.

They had been living in the house for 25 years but Javid and Ambika were building their own house and planned to move out soon.

Fire officers left at around 6 pm and police officers allowed the crowd of family members to gather in front the gate.

They exchanged quiet whispers as they stared sadly at the charred remains of the structure.

It was not long before tears began flowing again.

As the family continued to mourn, some curious onlookers ventured to stand over a nearby drain and peep through decorative blocks in the wall to catch a glimpse of what was left of the house.

Fire officials were unable to immediately determine the cause of the fire and Newsday was told the investigation is still ongoing.

Officers from the Fire Prevention Section of the TT Fire Service are expected to return on September 14 to continue their investigation.

A source said no timeline could be given for the investigation as every case was different.

Nizam Ali’s sister Majeena Ali-Jodhan said the entire family was still in shock.

“We don’t know what really happened, but two young lives were lost.”

She said she last spoke with her sister in law earlier on September 13.

“We spoke on the phone. (We had a) normal conversation. Today was my nephew’s birthday so we sent birthday greetings to him.”

She said the family was still processing the sudden loss.

“They were making plans to have a lime tomorrow…at this house right here,” she said as she pointed at the charred remains of the home.

As the family searches for answers, Ali-Jodhan said they would await the results of the investigation.

She added the male relative who survived the fire should also, hopefully, provide some answers.

“It’s only when he comes out (of the hospital) we will have a better idea of what happened.”