Sascha Wilson
Mere minutes after threatening to set his house on fire on Sunday, a 40-year-old New Grant man with a history of mental instability was burnt to death after his home erupted in flames.
However, fire officers returned to the scene of the blaze which claimed Amarnath Narinesingh’s life yesterday, and as of last evening had not yet determined the cause.
Police said Narinesingh, who lived with his 48‑year-old common-law wife Asha Norman, was a psychiatric patient at the San Fernando General Hospital for eight years.
Norman told police that 15 minutes before the fire, she was downstairs baking when he threatened to burn down the house.
Around 6 pm, she smelled smoke and then saw it coming from the back of the house. She investigated further and saw the area engulfed in flames.
The woman then contacted the Fire Service and police. By the time firefighters arrived, however, the two-storey wooden and concrete house was already well ablaze. When the flames were extinguished, charred skeletal remains were found in the downstairs area near the front step. The woman’s white Nissan Y12 Wingroad was also destroyed.
A neighbour said before the fire there was a power outage. When the electricity came back, she was eating popcorn when she heard her neighbour scream out. When she looked through her window, she saw the back of her neighbour’s house on fire, and it rapidly spread to the rest of the house. She saw Norman on the road, and it appeared as though she was thinking about running back in the yard to save her car, but she advised her not to.
The remains were removed to the San Fernando Mortuary pending a postmortem.
When Guardian Media visited, Norman declined to comment.
Visiting the scene were Assistant Divisional Fire Officer Noel and other officers from the Mon Repos Fire Headquarters, as well as Insp Alexander, Sgt Singh, PC Ramkissoon, and PC Maharaj of the Tableland Police Station.
