Guyana: Rice Farmer Returns from Field to Find Alness Home Destroyed by Fire

A rice farmer from Corentyne returned home on Tuesday afternoon to find his house in Alness Village completely destroyed by fire. The incident left six family members without a home. The homeowner, Vishnu Ganpat, was working in his rice fields, located over four miles from his residence at Lot 45 Alness Village, when he received a call informing him of the fire.

By the time he arrived, firefighters had already extinguished the blaze, but the family’s four-bedroom wooden and concrete house was entirely consumed by the flames. Ganpat expressed his devastation, stating, “Right now I am going into the crop and I don’t even have a cent left because everything burn. Nothing was saved. I feel heartbroken for losing everything. Thank God I came home and found my family alive.”

His wife, Gumattie Desa, recounted that she was preparing lunch around 3:30 p.m. when someone alerted her to sparks coming from the upper section of the house. She rushed outside and saw flames emerging from one of the front bedrooms. She immediately called for her son to turn off the main electrical supply, but the fire spread rapidly, preventing him from reaching the switch.

Within minutes, the fire had engulfed the entire building. At the time of the incident, the house was occupied by the couple’s 21-year-old daughter, two sons aged 21 and 16, and their 13-month-old grandchild. Fortunately, all occupants escaped without injury, but the family lost all their furniture, appliances, clothing, and other belongings.

Firefighters from the Guyana Fire Service responded to the scene after receiving reports of the fire, while local residents gathered outside as the flames consumed the home. The displaced family is currently staying with relatives as they begin the process of rebuilding their lives. Divisional Fire Officer Clive McDonald stated that the cause of the fire is still under investigation.

Source: snn.gy