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| A policewoman offers a drink to Jacqueline Shawna Russell who lost all her possessions in yesterday’s fire in East Kingston. Russell was one of 13 victims of the blaze. (PHOTOS: KARL MCLARTY) |
Thirteen people, including five children, were yesterday left homeless when fire of unknown origin gutted six houses in a tenement yard in East Kingston.
Police report that at about 11:30 am residents in the area saw smoke coming from a house located off Wellington Street and raised an alarm.
"I was on the road talking to a friend and I heard someone shout out fire," said Deadre Lewis.
The 47-year-old female resident said she rushed to investigate and found that her house was among several buildings on fire. The discovery triggered a mad rush as residents, armed with buckets of water, made a desperate attempt to put out the blaze.
They were forced to beat a hasty retreat as the heat and smoke from the angry blaze made their task difficult.
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| Residents remove furniture from one of the houses gutted by fire off Wellington Street, East Kingston yesterday. |
As the fire razed the houses, residents from neighbouring streets rushed to remove furniture and other items from their homes in fear that the fire would spread.
Lewis was not so lucky. "I lost everything," she said, as she struggled to hold back the tears.
Jacqueline Shawna Russell, 36, was another female resident counting her losses as she was left with only the clothes on her back. "Everything I work hard for gone," said the obviously distraught Russell, who sat on a sidewalk, her head in her hands as she wept. more
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