Trinidad: Two families homeless after Diwali night fire

TRINIDAD - Scratch bomb and fireworks play for children in the Mc Bean, Couva community on Divali night ended up in tragedy for three families after two of their houses burst into flames destroying everything.

Nine people are now homeless, including four children – a 13-year-old and a 10-yearold.

The victims are Michael Rampersad, 61, his sons Roger, 37 and Jimmy, 36; Jimmy’s wife Videya Lalla, 34 and their four children ages seven, 10, 12 and 13 and Lalla’s brother Darly Ramnarace. The incident took place at Baksh Settlement Extension 1, off Deonarine Junction. Speaking with the T&T Guardian after the incident, a distraught Jimmy said that at about 6.45 pm he was at home with one of his sons when neighbours called out to him saying his father’s upholstery workshop was on fire. “Within minutes even though I tried to throw water, the fire quickly spread and burnt everything to the ground. The two houses completely destroyed and everything with it. I really couldn’t save anything,” Jimmy said.

He said there were lots of children in the area playing with scratch bombs and fireworks and it is believed that one of them threw a scratch bomb and it landed in his father’s workshop and when it burst the flames caught the material on fire. He said there were a lot of combustible items in the workshop, including chemicals and glue, which he believes fed the flames.

“My father lived here for all his life. We all grew up here. He worked from here and earned his living, now everything has gone up in flames,” Jimmy said.

Jimmy’s wife Videya said this incident was a double whammy for her, as she lost a cousin in an accident in Claxton Bay . “Because of the death in the family we could not have celebrated Divali, but my husband still lit one deya in the living room and I was just picked up to go temple and not even five minutes after I left home my son called me to say the house on fire.”

(Stabroek News)