A devastating fire has reduced a two-bedroom wooden home at Lot 159, #8 Village, West Coast Berbice, to ashes, leaving 46-year-old Nadine Pluck struggling to come to terms with the loss of her lifelong residence and all her belongings.
Pluck, a janitor attached to the Blairmont Estate, was at work on Monday around 12:35 p.m. when she received the first alarming call from a neighbour.
“One of my neighbours called me and told me the upper flat of my house was on fire,” she recounted. “A couple of minutes after, she called back and said the bottom started to burn, and there’s nothing to be saved.”
Despite a rapid response from two fire tenders, one from her workplace and another from the nearby station, by the time Pluck arrived, the blaze had already consumed the structure.
“There was nothing that could have been done,” she said. “They put it out and I’m grateful, but I lost everything that I had.”
The home, a two-storey wooden building she shared with her brother, also served as the centre of her small-scale poultry business.
Pluck revealed that she had recently stocked approximately 120 pounds of chicken, which she processed and supplied to the local market.
“I lost all of that and everything that I had — my computer, my fridge, my TV, my stove, washing machine, blender, all my electrical items were engulfed in fire,” she explained. “At this point, I can’t even estimate the losses because there were so many things. I had everything in my house, everything.”
Beyond the material loss, the emotional toll has been overwhelming. The house held deep sentimental value, having belonged to her late father, who passed away three years ago. Now, Pluck faces the daunting task of starting over from nothing.
“Most of my life I was living here,” she said. “It started as a one-bedroom upstairs where my father, my siblings and I stayed. Over time, I worked and expanded it. I extended the downstairs… I’m traumatised.
There’s so much going through my mind right now that I can’t really say,” she shared. “I have to start from scratch. It’s very terrifying.”
Pluck is appealing to the public for assistance during this difficult time.
Anyone willing to offer help or make donations can contact her directly at 619-8299.
