Friend recounts house going up in smoke

Jason Alleyne and his partner made a risky attempt to save a long-time neighbour, Alfred Howard’s house as it became engulfed by fire at Lucas Street, St Philip yesterday afternoon.

Howard’s neighbour Jason Alleyne.

Alleyne told Barbados TODAY that the couple’s swift action also helped to spare their own home from destruction.

“We went into action pretty fast especially my girl she went into action [fast]. I had to warn her because she was basically by the heat. I was there with a bucket of water throwing [it on the house]. We were trying to wet the side of the house because that is something you should do so the fire wouldn’t get anything dry to catch,” he said.

Fire gutted the home of Alfred Howard on Monday leaving his family homeless.

Initially, Alleyne thought the smoke was coming from a resident who burns refuse indiscriminately but soon realised the smoke was coming from his neighbour’s house.

“[I knew] them all my life from the time I move up here from Cave Hill but everyone in the house [I] was close with. These are the ‘fellas’ that I mainly hang out with through the area. I know them pretty well,” he said.

Despite their attempts to salvage both homes from the raging blaze, Alleyne said his home still received damage to the windows and guttering. But he was thankful it was not to the magnitude of his neighbours who lost everything in the blaze, he said.

“In less than fifteen minutes the whole house was up in flames. I mean it caught so fast it was almost like if someone was throwing gasoline in it giving it gas. In less than fifteen minutes the place was done,” he said.

Alleyne told Barbados TODAY that the family of twelve had been relocated at various relatives, the majority of whom reside in St Phillip.