A 62-year-old wheelchair-bound woman lost her life in the early hours of Tuesday after a fire destroyed her Blairmont, West Bank Berbice (WCB) home, trapping her inside the burning building. The deceased woman has been identified as Bibi Shafroon Ramprashad, also called “Zina.”
Reports indicate that screams were heard emanating from the burning building, but by the time neighbors rushed to assist, the flames had already engulfed much of the structure, making it impossible for anyone to enter. Her husband, 65-year-old Looknauth Ramprashad, was at work when the fire broke out.
Speaking with reporters at the scene, an emotional Ramprashad recalled leaving home around 19:00h on Monday evening after ensuring that his wife was comfortable. “Before I leave home, I make sure she get she tea, she biscuit, she food, whatever she want. She can’t move about much because she in a wheelchair, but she does watch television and then go to bed,” he explained.
The grieving husband said he called his wife before retiring for the night and was assured that everything was fine. “I just call she and ask if everything alright. She says yes, she in bed. I tell she relax and if anything, happen, call me on the phone.”
However, sometime between 4:00h and 4:30h, he received a devastating call from his daughter-in-law. At first, he feared his wife may have been taken to hospital. Instead, he was told something far worse. “Daddy, worse than that happen,” he recalled being told. “Your house burn down with Mommy inside,” he recalled were the words uttered him.
The father of the family broke down as he recounted returning home to find the building reduced to mere burnt wood. “When I come home, this is it. Nothing more. The children there, but I start crying and thinking, Mommy done. The neighbours tell me they hear she hollering, but they couldn’t get in because the fire done take over the whole place.”
His son, 32-year-old Kevon Rampershad, said he was alerted shortly before dawn and rushed to the scene. “When we come, all we could do was save the car. Everything had already gone,” he said.
According to him, firefighters arrived a few minutes later and battled the blaze for more than an hour before bringing it under control. Rampershad said his mother’s body was discovered in what was once the hall of the home. “It look like she was trying to get out through the side door, but the sofa kind of block she. She didn’t get to reach the door. Right there she remain.”
The tragedy has left the family devastated, not only by the loss of a loved one but by the destruction of virtually everything they owned.
Ramprashad said he and his wife had been together for about 42 years and had worked hard to build the home they shared. “Everything been between me and she. We build this house together,” he said.
The fire also destroyed personal documents, including identification cards, pension documents, bank records and savings. The grieving husband disclosed that more than $2.5 million in cash, which the family intended to deposit at a bank, was also lost in the blaze. “We had over two and a half million dollars in cash. We were supposed to carry it to the bank. Everything gone. ID card, pension book, old age book, everything gone.”
The cause of the fire has not yet been officially determined, and investigations are continuing.
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