Woman, trapped in her bedroom, burned to death
Scenes from yesterday’s fire at Little Diamond.
Kaieteur News – Yesterday a woman trapped in her bedroom died in an early morning fire. The deceased is identified as 26-year-old Krystle Fung. When Kaieteur News contacted Chief Fire Officer Marlon Gentle, he said the fire was still under active investigation.
This publication understands that the fire occurred around 05:30 o’clock. at Lot 8, Little Diamond, Demerara East Bank, where Fung lived with her father, mother and little sister.
According to an eyewitness, neighbors and passers-by noticed smoke and fire emitting from the upper flat wood of the two-storey building, so they raised an alarm.
Died, Krystle Fungus.
While Fung’s parents and sister were able to escape the inferno with minor burns to their bodies, she was not so lucky since she was trapped in her bedroom, which is on the west side of the building’s front.
Another eyewitness noted that before the firefighters arrived, they were crying for help coming from Fung’s bedroom. “Her father and some men tried to rescue her but the fire continued to spread and they had to abandon her … at that time they couldn’t do anything to save the way the fire went out,” the man added.
As word spread about a fire in the community, residents swarmed the road and streets. After the firefighters were informed that a woman had been trapped in the front bedroom of the upper apartment, the men aimed their pipes at the bedroom area to control the fire.
However, that wasn’t enough – the screams of the young woman were no longer heard after some time. At that point, Fung’s relatives and other persons gathered under a neighbor’s house. As Fung’s mother watched on in tears, her relatives tried to comfort her.
At about 7:40 pm, firefighters were able to control the fire that had completely destroyed the upper part of the building. The firefighters then continued to pipe parts of the house that still had smoke.
Moments after the firefighters stopped hosing the house, loud screams from relatives came after someone said, “Look her burning body hanging on that side of the house.”
Before the firefighters attempted to restore Fung’s body, workers from the Guyana Power and Light (GPL) were called in to cut the electrical wire that ran into the home. Firefighters then placed a ladder some distance away from where Fung’s lost remains were seen hanging out on the west side of the house. However, the ranks had some difficulties in reaching Fung’s body, so other firefighters were instructed to continue to hose the area.
“Don’t throw it that way … pick it up,” relatives shouted at the firefighters who removed Fung’s body which had been burnt beyond recognition. Undertakers then wrapped Fung’s remains in blue plastic and took them away. The investigation into the cause of the fire is ongoing.