Senior Reporter
kevon.felmine@guardian.co.tt
Now mourning the death of his son Bevaughn Joseph, who died after a gas tank explosion destroyed their home, meat vendor Brian Joseph says he plans to take legal action against those responsible for the tragedy that also left him homeless.
Speaking to Guardian Media yesterday at his meat stall in Duncan Village, San Fernando, Brian said he had no choice but to seek justice and compensation.
“I cannot sleep on the street, and I cannot sleep by him (relative). This is the only income I have had for over 40 years,” he said.
Joseph, 28, a labourer, suffered second- and third-degree burns when a 20-pound LPG cylinder exploded in the kitchen of his ground-floor apartment at Sunrees Road, Penal, last Monday. He was rushed to the San Fernando General Hospital and admitted to the Intensive Care Unit but died on Friday.
The burnt-out remains of the apartment still bear the scars of the blast: shattered windows, scorched walls, and blackened furniture. Brian described it as looking “bombed”.
He said that around 11.45 am on Friday, his brother urged him to go to the hospital.
“When I went into the unit, I didn’t recognise my son because his head was swollen,” Brian said. “It wasn’t the first time I was the last person to see a loved one before they passed.”
Brian said he was returning from work when he got the call. He arrived at the hospital around 2.15 pm and was told that doctors had briefly revived Joseph.
“They sanitised me and let me in. I said, ‘Bevaughn.’ He lifted his head. I said it again, and he did the same. When I looked into his eyes, I knew he was gone, like he was just waiting to hear me. I sat in the waiting room and cried a little bit.”
His mother was there, but he chose not to tell her immediately. About ten minutes later, a nurse returned with the dreaded words: “I’m sorry, your son has gone.”
Brian said the room erupted in grief, with relatives fainting from shock.
Recalling the morning of the explosion, he said he woke around 4 am, watched a movie, and noticed Joseph struggling to sleep.
“I saw him light a cigarette and walk outside. I just peeped through the door and walked down the hill ... I heard a loud explosion.”
When he returned, the house was engulfed in flames.
“Real tragedy—burned from head to toe, skin falling off. It’s the worst I’ve ever seen, and that man still fought. He walked down the hill and went into the ambulance, too.”
Brian described his son as kind-hearted but troubled when he drank. He added that firefighters visited the scene and that he has since consulted an attorney, with a meeting scheduled for Tuesday. Doctors told him his son had 80 per cent burns.
Speaking on the safety of cylinders, Brian recalled seeing someone pour water on the cylinder head the night before, which began to bubble, a sign of leakage.
“The head is not supposed to move when you’re turning the seal.”
Joseph’s death is the third fatal gas tank explosion in recent weeks. Earlier this month, Ria George and Requel Babway also died in separate LPG-related incidents that shocked the country and prompted public concern over domestic gas safety.
Both Ramco Industries and National Petroleum (NP) have since issued statements addressing the string of explosions.
In a formal release, Ramco acknowledged the incidents, including those involving Joseph and George, and said investigations were ongoing.
NP, responding directly to George’s death, extended condolences to her family and reminded the public to conduct a “soapy water test” at connection points between the regulator and valve, and between the regulator and hose.
