Fire wrecks family’s back-to-school plans

Despite losing nearly all of his material possessions to a fire on Windward Road on Monday, Rohan Thomas is still grateful that his children survived the blaze.

At 9:29 a.m., units from the Rollington Town and York Park stations responded to a fire call at 90 Windward Road. They could only perform cooling-down operations on the three-bedroom dwelling.

Thomas said that he was in his kitchen when he heard the screams.

"Mi baby dem did in deh (the bedroom) a play and mi inna the kitchen. All of a sudden mi hear a lady bawl out, "Fire!" Mi couldn't do nothing but grab the cylinder and me baby dem and run out. Mi deep freeze, washing machine and other stuff gone. Everything gone. Mi nuh know weh mi a go do," he lamented.

District officer at the Rollington Town Fire Station, Andrew Stevens, said that four adults and three children have been displaced.

"The cause of the fire at this time is undetermined. Three bedrooms and a shop were destroyed in the fire. So far the estimated loss is $5 million," he said.

Thomas said that he does not know what he is going to do as the school supplies for his three-year-old daughter also went up in flames.

An additional $8,000 he was saving to do further shopping for his family was also lost.

"Everything burn up. Mi daughter even fi go school January morning, and everything gone. Mi nuh know how mi a go do this. Everything deh deh fi school, all weh left a fi school open back. Bag, book, uniform; Jah know, this nuh real. See it deh, a this alone me have," he cried, pointing to the white shirt, navy blue shorts and black slippers he was wearing.

Councillor for the area, Lorraine Dobson, was quick on the scene, offering to help.

"I just called someone to help clean up and they said they would come tomorrow (today). So when they clean up, we can know what we can do. I have already contacted social services, so they can come by and even offer a bed or something," she said.