Up in smoke

A father, mother and two children are now homeless after their three-bedroom home, the new one that was being built next to it and the family business all burned to the ground at Diamond Valley, St Philip, this morning.

The blaze destroyed De Mash Up Bar and the adjoining four-bedroom house that was still under construction.

Owner Corville Browne told Barbados TODAY that he was at work when he received news that his home was on fire, which eyewitnesses said broke out some time after 8 a.m. Browne rushed home to see most of its contents damaged, leaving him with a sudden headache as he now has to focus on rebuilding, he said.

Corville Browne showing the extent to which his Diamond Valley, St Philip home and De Mash Up Bar was destroyed by fire.

He told Barbados TODAY: “I was there building another house next to the one we living in and that burn down too. I feel like if I come and find my mother dead or my wife dead, so you would understand. I don’t know what I will do yet. I will wait until the day quiet down a little, and then when the police finish the investigations I will see what happen.”

Some of the men from the area who attempted to put out the fire before fire tenders arrived, managed to save chairs and a few other items.

Paul Rice, one of those who made the effort to save his friend’s home and bar, told Barbados TODAY: “The fire start from the back. By the time we get in the house it was too much so you couldn’t really do much. The pressure of the water was low. I tried helping to take out things out of the house, and everything, to help my buddy. That was about it.”

Browne said the family would have to separate for now as they would have to stay at other locations, but said that he would be making the effort to start rebuilding soon, as he said that he should be under the same roof as his wife.

anestahenry@barbadostoday.bb