By Andrew Carmichael
An elderly woman died Wednesday evening when fire destroyed her home at Islington, New Amsterdam, Berbice. Dead is Margaret London of Seventh Cross Street, Islington, Greater New Amsterdam. London died a day before her 86th birthday.
At the time of the fire, London and her 93-year-old elder sister, Olive, were both at home.
According to the elder London, she was preparing something for her sister to eat when she saw a bright light coming from somewhere between the two bedrooms. According to her, she then went to check on Margaret, who is bedridden.
“As I was passing I felt a heat and so I looked around and saw the fire.” She told Guyana Times International that at that time she went for a bucket of water. “When I throw the water, the fire blaze up and so I went into the kitchen to get another bucket of water but I fell down. Then I decided to go downstairs to get another bucket. As soon as I opened the door and come outside, all I feel is somebody grab me and carry me and carried me away. I wanted to go back for Margaret, but they wouldn’t allow me.”
“Fire fire!”
Pastor Ryan Manpowan of the Overwinning Bible Church said he was doing his usual exercise when he heard shouts of ‘fire fire!’ “I saw the building on fire and Sister London was underneath the house, so I lifted her away from the building.”
Some neighbours tried to enter the burning building, but were prevented from doing so by the intense heat.
Eyewitnesses said shortly after 19:00h, they saw fire coming from the Londons’ house. According to Mark Clark, he was looking at the house from his steps when he saw a bright light.
Lamp lit
According to Olive, at the time of the fire all of the electrical lights in the house were off, and she had a lamp lit in her sister’s room and a candle lit in hers. She said the bucket of water was nearby, so it did not take her long to attempt to extinguish the fire.
The Guyana Fire Service arrived on the scene and was able to contain the fire.
Moments later, the badly burnt body of Margaret was removed. The body is currently at the Arokium Funeral Parlour awaiting an autopsy.
The sisters have been living alone in the house for more than 75 years.
Margaret leaves to mourn her eldest sibling – a brother who lives in Georgetown; Olive; and another sister who has been in a coma in the United States since last year.
