Community mourns as fire victim succumbs to injuries

A close friend of the 58-year-old woman who died on Tuesday at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital (QEH) where she was undergoing treatment for burns sustained in a fire at her home three days ago, is struggling to come to grips with the loss.

When Barbados TODAY visited Janice Mitchell’s 1st Avenue Chapman Lane, St Michael community, many residents were overcome with grief and indicated they were unable to speak about the tragedy. Many of them remained behind closed doors.

However, Anthony Amey, who was standing in front of Mitchell’s house struggling to hold back the tears, said no one could deny that the deceased was a good woman.

He had hoped that Mitchell, along with her daughter and granddaughter who were also injured in the fire that took place in the early hours of last Saturday, would have recovered and returned home.

“I am holding back the tears, trying not to cry. Got water settling in my eyes, talking about it all the time. She was a good person, I am telling you. Sometimes she don’t know what to cook when the day come and I would tell her ‘whatever you feel like cooking I would eat some’, and we would sit down and eat, I wash up the [dishes] and she would pack them up sometimes and we good,” Amey said.

Although grief-stricken, he said he was satisfied that he got the opportunity to see Mitchell before she died.

Amey said he also got a glimpse of Mitchell’s 40-year-old daughter Keisha. Barbados TODAY understands that Keisha and her one-year-old daughter remain in critical condition at the QEH.

“I went and see her [Mitchell] yesterday hooked up to all the different machines. But she couldn’t talk, she ain’t talk to me. Her eyes were shut down, her face here so burn up, her hands; down there [legs and feet] is the worst,” he recalled.

“All I could do is look and see Keisha there lying down, wrap up from head to foot.”

Last Saturday, emergency crews were called to 1st Avenue Chapman Lane around 2:35 a.m., to respond to the fire.

Police said a resident smelled smoke and on checking saw Mitchell’s house engulfed in flames. The neighbour alerted the district and broke down the front door of the house, injuring himself in the process. He also tried to extinguish the blaze and several other residents rendered assistance until fire tenders arrived.

Investigations into the cause of the fire are ongoing. (anestahenry@barbadostoday.bb)