‘God, mi thank you fi spare us’ - Kingston fire victims grieve with Westmoreland dad who lost three sons in blaze

Despite living in a friend's old garage following a fire that reduced their home to rubble on August 8, Lezreen Hyatt, 65, and her daughter, Venice Samules, 42, who suffers from epilepsy, said they feel very lucky to be alive.

The two said their appreciation for life grew exponentially after they were told about the tragedy that occurred in Springfield, Westmoreland, on Sunday at 7 p.m. Three brothers, identified as Adrianno Laing and twins Jayden and Jorden Laing, perished in a fire that destroyed their home.

Hyatt told THE STAR that the news brought back painful memories of their own ordeal, which left her family and over 30 persons in sections of Smith Lane and James Street in central Kingston homeless. Several residents claimed that while the occupants attempted to leave the premises they were fired upon by gunmen standing outside.

"Mi affi give God thanks, especially when mi hear about what happened to the three boys in Westmoreland. Mi just say 'God, mi thank you fi spare us'. Mi know say a tek him did wah tek wi out deh so," a grateful Hyatt said. Although lamenting the conditions in which they live, Hyatt, who has six children, said the painful flashbacks have proven to be an uncanny source of strength for her.

"In yah so a leak bad. Yuh see if all the rain come dung now, di wul a yah so flood out. Plus all of the rusty irons, the smell of oil, the dust, insects, everything make it difficult to be here right now. But up to this morning mi a wash the plates and a say 'God, yuh know why!' A three boy pickney at dat, enuh. Him [God] know say dem no fi deh pon di land and him know say it was time fi wi leave out of that house. As I sit here so talking a dat mi think bout," said the senior, who also has eight grandchildren and three great-grandchildren.

Samuels, who is a vendor, said the setback has been hard on her and that she has been receiving help from family and friends so that her nine-year-old son could be ready for school yesterday.

"We lost almost everything; furniture, clothes, goods, liquor and money. Almost everything mi a tell yuh! I have been getting [things] to send him back to school because him would a deh yah wid wi now if wi never get di help," said the mother of four.

She also expressed gratitude for her life being spared especially as she suffered a seizure while other persons were scrambling for safety during the fire.

Hyatt recalled that she cried out for Jesus as two persons carried Samuels out to the street.

"Same time mi a try fi tek out some of the clothes and other necessary things. Then when mi look, mi hear shot start to burst. One man out a street shout out and say 'don't go out of street mommy, shot a buss'. But mi go out a di fence and lean up and say 'Jesus! Beg yuh another chance, weh di fireman and police dem deh?' But mi stand up against the wall same way a shout," she said.

A total of 18, 627 Jamaicans have been rendered homeless in the last 10 years as a result of fire, according to the 2021 Economic and Social Survey of Jamaica.