Belrock exhales after arson attack

One could hardly tell that the porch where Lucinda Rattigion sat as she spoke with THE STAR was previously a burnt out area on Fourth Street in Belrock, Kingston 11.

The spot will forever tell the horrific story of a fire that was set by arsonists in November 2018 that left her and 29 others homeless. But the area was transformed into a 12-unit concrete structure, and last year, keys were handed over to residents by Prime Minister Andrew Holness, who is also member of parliament for St Andrew West Central in which the community is located.

Rattigion said it was difficult for her to pick up the pieces, and was grateful when she was selected to receive a one-bedroom house last year.

"Mi get back a one-bedroom house with bathroom and kitchen and mi thankful. The only thing is that mi still have a knee injury so mi not working now. It hard to make ends meet sometimes but mi a gwan hold on," she said. In November 2018, armed men fired shots and then set fire to one house, which spread to neighbouring homes. Rattigion said she was asleep when she was awakened by shouts of 'fire' and explosions. She said she fearfully ventured outside and attempted to jump a wall to escape.

"I don't know when mi get strength from but mi pop down a gate and just start run in the darkness. By this time mi house catch a fire and mi just remember a pitch over on a whole heap a tings and mi damage mi knee in the process. Dem time deh shot a fire same way and it was just bare chaos," she said. She only saved the nightgown that she was wearing.

"The entire place was just awful and the whole place bun up. It was a relative I had to call to get even an underwear. One of my neighbours put mi up for about three months and then after that I had to get somewhere to rent," she said.

Dorothy Nugent, who was keeping her fingers crossed that she would receive one of the units, had her prayers answered as she and her family got a two-bedroom structure.

"When it happen, we had to live in a little pitch patch house. Mi use to cry but we get back something now," she said.