Oct 26, 2026
3 min read
A nine-year-old boy escaped a Kilcoy, Corentyne, house fire on Sunday evening that killed his father, who was asleep when a spark from an electric fan reportedly ignited the bed.
Tansingh Rampersaud, 45, a bell loader operator, died in the blaze at Second Street, Lot 9. His charred remains were found after firefighters put out the fire, which broke out around 6:30pm.
Firefighters found the house fully engulfed on arrival and were told one occupant was unaccounted for.
Family members said the boy told them the fan sparked a fire that spread to the bed. The cause has not been officially confirmed.
Rampersaud's brother, Cheenarine Rampersaud, said relatives rushed to the scene after the boy ran to alert them. The flames had already spread through the house, and a grille at the back door blocked entry, he said.
"The fire blaze on the back window, I took a big brick, and I knock the window, when I do that the fire go off and me pitch back like 6 feet away. Me run come back on the dam, I tell them I can't do nothing, the whole house catch fire," he said.
"If it had less fire, me coulda jump through and try my best to save him, but we couldn't do nothing. Me couldn't go to the fire," he said.
Cheenarine said he could not sleep on Sunday night, haunted by his brother's cries for help.
"Like the voice left inside, when he said 'aye bai', when he drink that's how he would call me, so me hear the voice shout out 'Aye bai' but me alone was there," he said.
He said he fears for his nephew's future. The boy lost his mother at age two.
Rampersaud's mother, Ajumatie Prithtipaul, 73, said she saw her son earlier on Sunday and found him asleep after drinking. She urged him to stop, and he promised to do so, saying he intended to earn money to repay people to whom he owed credit.
"My son never tell me one word. Even if me fight him, or what me tell him, he not open he mouth and tell me one word. He's a good son to me," she said.
Prithtipaul said she was home when the boy arrived, running and crying, to say the house was on fire.
The family is arranging care for the boy. Investigations are ongoing.
