Chapman Lane residents praying for neighbours injured in fire

Residents of Chapman Lane, The City are praying and hoping that three of their neighbours who are being treated at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital (QEH) for severe burns sustained in a house fire will pull through.

Barbados TODAY understands that Janice Mitchell, 58; her daughter Keisha Mitchell 40; and Keisha’s one-year-old daughter, who were injured in the fire at 1st Avenue Chapman Lane, are currently in stable condition.

“We are just praying and hoping for the best for all of them. This is not easy on us as residents and everybody just in a serious state of shock right now. Look, people just can’t believe it,” one resident said.

Emergency crews were called to the area around 2:35 a.m. for reports of a fire.

Police said that a next-door resident smelled smoke, checked and saw the house engulfed in flames. He alerted the district and broke down the front door to free the occupants, injuring himself in the process. He also tried to extinguish the blaze, and several other residents rendered assistance until the fire tenders arrived.

When Barbados TODAY visited the area today, the injured man’s partner, who did not give her name, said he was resting. However, the partner indicated that she was happy the fire was brought under control as soon as possible.

She also indicated that it was her partner’s daughter who first smelled the smoke and started investigating its origins.

The partner said: “Everybody out here in shock right now. I am glad my stepdaughter was still up at that time. It is because of her that we found out about the fire because everybody else was sleeping at that time. But the last thing I heard is that they are alive and that they are trying. But this really got a lot of people shaken up right now”.

Investigations are ongoing. (AH)