Kencot fire victims unsure of next move
A day after a massive fire destroyed 15 homes at James Town in Kencot, St Andrew, residents sat hopeless yesterday as they tried to figure out the first move in picking up the shattered pieces of their lives.
Forty-one-year-old Donnette Campbell told The Sunday Gleaner that since the fire, everyone’s life has been in shambles, with most residents sitting on chairs last Saturday night staring at the spot which once housed their homes.
“Out a door we sleep. We need some help. Clothes, food, board, everything. Everybody weh can give, give. Nuh care how small it is, we need it. We don’t have anything to even put on. Last night we cold, it rough,” Campbell said.
According to her, when the fire started around 2 p.m., she was sitting on a chair in the pathway that leads to the houses. But despite her desperate efforts to save some of her belongings, she was unsuccessful.
More than 30 persons, including seven children, have now been left without a home, and an additional five homes were damaged by the fire.
Another resident, who sat dejected yesterday, said she was still in the process of accepting that her home was really gone.
“Me belly feel tired. Sometimes me affi feel if me heart a beat. Me never burn out yet, not even a pin me couldn’t save. Everything burn out to ash,” Shaneka Silvera said.
A representative from the Programme of Advancement Through Health and Education (PATH) visited the community yesterday to collect the names of the affected persons, and announced to the residents that once they bring in the fire report and their identification to the PATH offices, they will receive help.
However, the residents complained that it would be impractical for any of them because their identification cards and tax registration numbers were also burnt in the fire.
Up to yesterday afternoon, the cause of the fire had not yet been established.