Senior Reporter
sascha.wilson@guardian.co.tt
Just after midnight, flames engulfed the Moruga home of 75-year-old pensioner Bernadette Guerrero, as neighbours looked on helplessly, praying she was not inside.
Tragically, firefighters later discovered her lifeless body in a bathroom on the upper floor of her Preau Village home. Authorities believe she may have died from smoke inhalation.
Guerrero, who lived alone following the death of her husband, was remembered by residents as a quiet and pleasant woman.
Villager Keelon Moore, who knew her since childhood, said his brother alerted him to the fire around 12.30 am.
“In my mind, I was praying she wasn’t home—that she had gone for a walk somewhere or had gone for a drive with a family member, as she sometimes did,” Moore said.
He said firefighters forced open the front door and initially felt a sense of relief when she was not found in the bedroom. That relief quickly turned to sorrow when her body was discovered in the bathroom.
Moore described Guerrero as reserved and soft-spoken, someone who largely kept to herself.
He said she had lived in the United States for a period before returning home. After her husband’s passing, she maintained her daily routines—walking alone during the day and even at night, and often sitting on her porch, smiling at passers-by.
The Fire Service responded promptly, but by the time officers arrived, the house was already engulfed in flames.
Police received the report around 12.10 am, and firefighters from the Mon Repos Fire Station were dispatched, as there is no longer a station in Princes Town.
Neighbours reportedly saw sparks coming from a nearby lamppost and the electrical line leading to the house shortly before the fire.
The cause of the blaze remains under investigation. Police and fire officials are continuing their inquiries.
