Despite a valiant attempt by relatives and neighbours to save 79-year-old Hollister Hamilton yesterday morning, he still met a tragic end, perishing in a fire that engulfed his home in Gasparillo yesterday.
Hamilton’s 53-year-old common-law wife, Diana Francois, was injured as she tried to help the bedridden man out of the burning house. She suffered third-degree burns and was treated at the San Fernando General Hospital.
Four other people, including two children, are now homeless.
At the time of the fire, the couple and Francois’ daughter were at home.
Relatives were too distraught to speak with Guardian Media, but neighbours said the community was shaken and saddened by the tragedy.
Neighbour Abiola Bramble-Stephen recalled seeing one of the victims trying to use a garden hose in an attempt to extinguish the fire and she, her son and other neighbours tried to help, but the heat was too intense. She said they used the hose and buckets of water, but “it was already too far gone.”
The fire services responded after they were contacted around 7.25 am.
Bramble-Stephen said Francois suffered burns to her arms, chest and neck trying to get Hamilton out of the house.
She said eventually Francois came out of the front door crying, and they helped her out of the yard.
“When I was trying to get inside, we were hearing him crying out.
He was crying out for somebody, and she was screaming at him to try to move, but he can’t really move. We couldn’t really do anything but just watch as a house burned down.”
Bramble-Stephen, a former emergency medical dispatcher, said the fire brought back horrible memories of when several of her relatives perished in a house fire at Caratal Road in Gasparillo three years ago.
“It was just a lot to take on and for all the medical training that I have, it was just like, ‘Oh my gosh, what to really do.’” She said the fire services arrived within ten minutes, but there was not much they could do to save the house or the elderly man.
Another neighbour, Richard Ramlakhan, praised the fire service for their quick response and professionalism.
He said, “The fire service did a good job; they did a great job because they saved the neighbour’s house. They did a great job, assisted in approaching the neighbours, talking with the neighbours, asking if they needed any assistance. They were professional.”
Preliminary investigations by fire officials suggested that the fire may have been accidental and started in one of the bedrooms, but investigations are still ongoing.
