Elderly woman perishes in fire

The Jamaica Fire Brigade is investigating a fire that resulted in the death of an elderly woman, who perished when the home in which she also operated a shop went up in flames yesterday.

THE STAR understands that the deceased has been identified as 75-year-old Monica Kerr of Camp Savanna address in Westmoreland.
Reports from the fire personnel are that they were summoned to a scene about 10:34 a.m.

THE STAR gathered that a unit from the Negril Fire Station and another from the Savanna-la-Mar Fire Station responded to the inferno, and carried out cooling-down operations.

THE STAR was told that the fire spread quickly and destroyed the five-room board building, with damages estimated to be close to $3 million.
Kerr’s charred remains were found among the debris.

The cause of the fire remains undetermined.

Information reaching THE STAR is that the elderly woman had a surgery done sometime ago where she removed one of her legs.
This latest tragedy brings to four, the number of people who died in like manner over the past few days.

Three children were burnt to death in a fire that gutted a house in Cockburn Gardens, Kingston 13, last Saturday.
The deceased have been identified as one-year-old twins Juvaughne and Jivaughne Bennett, and three-year-old Krisante Maxwell, all of a Booby Drive address.

Reports are that at about 12:50 a.m., six children were left in the care of an 18-year-old female.
THE STAR understands that the teen then left the five children in the care of her 13-year-old sibling.

The 13-year-old reportedly lit a candle which started a fire that eventually engulfed two houses on the premises. She, however, managed to remove two of the children from the house.

Investigations are ongoing in both incidents.