Corentyne fire that killed 5 was deliberately set – Divisional Fire Officer

The recent fire at No. 64 Village Corentyne, Berbice which claimed the lives of a mother and her four children was an act of arson, according to Divisional Fire Officer Clive McDonald.

Preliminary investigations into the cause of the November 12, 2024 fire have revealed that it was deliberately set.

The early morning inferno claimed the lives of a 34-year-old housewife, Hemwattie Singh, and four of her children; Kelvin Ramjatan called “Rovin” 14, Brandon Ramjatan called “Ravin” 10 – a child living with a disability, Cindy Ramjatan called “Emily” – 11; a student of New Market Primary School and 2-year-old Tomesh Ramjatan called “Arvin”.

The woman’s eldest child – 17-year-old Kevin Ramjattan called Alex – managed to escape unharmed but his mother and siblings were trapped.

At the time of the fire, the woman’s husband was in police custody.

According to the police, the children’s father, Rohan Ramjattan a cattle farmer called “Map Head” was arrested by Police in Berbice before the deadly blaze for cattle rustling. At the time of the devasting fire, he was in police custody.

This publication understands that there was a possibility of the cattle farmer implicating others in the matter of police interest and went to his home to give a warning of the possible effects if he did.

Nevertheless, the fire department is continuing its investigations.