A fire destroyed a two-bedroom wooden and concrete home belonging to 47-year-old labourer Kushpal Sharma of Wash Clothes, Mahaicony Branch Road, on Monday afternoon, in what he suspects was an act of arson.
The incident occurred around 16:30 hrs.
Speaking with Ignite News, Sharma recalled the terrifying moment he was awakened by the heat.
“When me sleep, me feel like me smell something like agrabati or camphor, not realising it was the paint.
You understand? When me feel the heat, then me move. When me move, me see share flame over me. And the plyboard start catch quick,” he said.
He explained that his escape was blocked, with doors braced by furniture, leaving him trapped and facing the flames for several tense minutes.
“I had nowhere to go because them brace the door with the music and brace the door with a big chair. So me had no access to come out. I had to hug the pillow and reverse back to the ply. And there me hop over on the sill and make a big jump for the louvre window because five minutes more that’s it.”
Sharma said many of his personal belongings were destroyed in the blaze.
“Me land paper, me passport, me ID card and me documentation and so on. Everything me had damage up,” he added.
Authorities are investigating the cause of the fire, with Sharma suspecting it was deliberately set. No injuries were reported, but the property suffered extensive damage.
