Six months after he married the woman he had spent decades with, an elderly man died in a fire at his Charford Court apartment on Wednesday night.
According to reports, the body of Edward Rondon, 67, was found under a chair in the living room of apartment 303 in Building F, Charford Court, Port-of-Spain when firefighters were able to put out the blaze.
His wife of six months, Joan Gibson, 68, was found unresponsive just inside the doorway by two of her grandchildren shortly after the fire started and is now warded in hospital fighting for her life.
Gibson’s granddaughter, who preferred not to be named, said she was on her way back to the apartment she shared with the couple around 10 pm when she saw smoke.
“I saw it was burning, I could see the smoke so I ran back to my cousin’s apartment at the end of the hall and was banging down his door for him to come and help me because like they had locked the door from inside,” the young woman said.
She said her cousin eventually pushed the door open and she used her key to unlock the burglar-proofed door to get into the apartment.
But by that time, thick black smoke had filled the apartment, cutting down visibility and making it difficult for the duo to breathe.
“The smoke was real thick, so he (cousin) kept running in and back out, I was running in and out too, my grandmother was right there on the ground and he dragged her out. He was calling, “Edward, Edward.” We heard him say “Yeah” but where he was we couldn’t see him because the place was black with smoke,” she said.
Residents watch as firefighters try to contain a blaze at an apartment at Charford Courts, Charlotte Street, Port-of-Spain on Wednesday night.
ROBERTO CODALLO
Recounting the horrifying experience, the young woman seemed close to tears.
“We really tried to save him but it was just too hot...when you walk in a few footsteps, it was blazing hot. I think he fall asleep and he probably only wake up when my cousin was calling him but it was too late for us to get him out.”
The 24-year-old woman said she had lived with the couple since she was an infant and described Rondon as loving and cool.
“They just got married about six months ago but they have been together all my life,” she said.
She said it was her grandmother who insisted she and Rondon tie the knot.
“He had no children, she had children from before, they were together for a long time and she wanted to get married so they did it.”
She said her grandmother remains warded at the Port-of-Spain General Hospital in serious condition.
“She is in the hospital, she is not responding right now.”
Charford Court Association: HDC ignoring issues
AnnMarie Downes, her husband and her daughter were fast asleep in their Building F Charford Court apartment when the smoke began filling their home.
In an interview with Guardian Media, Downes said her daughter woke her up, telling her their home was on fire.
“By the time I ran outside, the drawing-room was filled with smoke and when we came out, the fire was coming over the bannister and a guy from the next building called and said come out of the apartment, the apartment downstairs on fire,” Downes said.
She said she had met Rondon, who died in the fire, several times before and described him as a friendly person.
Downes was more familiar with Rondon’s wife, Joan Gibson.
And while she was grateful that Gibson and the dozens of others who live in Building F survived the fire, Downes was angry and upset at the Housing Development Corporation (HDC) yesterday.
Charford Court resident AnnMarie Downes speaks about her experience yesterday, after the fire at an apartment at Building F, Charford Court on Wednesday which took the life of Edward Rondon.
ANISTO ALVES
Downes is the treasurer of the Charford Court Association and said the HDC has been ignoring the complaints of residents for years.
“We have no fire extinguisher, no fire escape, we have nothing, the fire hydrant we have inside here, they locked it off, I am on the committee, we have been writing to them and nothing happens,” she said.
She and her family had to find somewhere else to sleep on Wednesday night and she was unsure when she would be able to sleep in her own bed again, as she said her apartment was filled with smoke and soot.
“I am now trying to find out what my situation is, we tried to go around 3 am to get some clothes and we were covered in black ash, so I don’t know where we will be sleeping,” she said.
Downes said she was not laying any blame on the Member of Parliament for the area, Stuart Young, or the recently-appointed Housing Minister, Camille Robinson-Regis.
“It is totally and solely the HDC. If we don’t fix our apartments, nothing fixing, and the ones who can’t afford to fix, I don’t know how they living. The Minister (Stuart Young) came and he tried and tried, but I don’t know like it was falling on deaf ears, I am asking now, come to Charford, see the problems, help the people,” Downes pleaded.
She lamented that it took Rondon’s death to get HDC officials to visit the complex.
Downes said the residents often get letters from the HDC, promising to fix the issues in the building.
“But is only talk, talk, talk. Nobody doing anything. It’s not just the fire and the guy that died, these buildings filled with mold, the roof leaking, the toilets backing up, it is so much we are facing,” she said.
Fire officers check the meter box at Building F, Charford Court yesterday after Wednesday’s fatal fire.
ANISTO ALVES
Camille, Stuart send out condolences
In a release from the Ministry of Housing and Urban Development, Minister Camille Robinson-Regis expressed her condolences to Rondon’s relatives.
“I and the management and staff are deeply saddened. We thank God that Joan Gibson was rescued and we wish her a full recovery as she is now under the care of the medical team at the Port-of-Spain General Hospital,” the Minister said.
She vowed that officials from the Health, Safety and Environment Unit and the Social and Community Department would conduct site visits yesterday and do “everything in their power” to assist the affected tenants and the apartments which were damaged in the fire.
“We will continue to provide assistance to the affected residents even as we await further information as to the exact cause of the fire,” Robinson-Regis said.
Member of Parliament for the area, Stuart Young visited the site yesterday along with HDC officials.
“I express my condolences to the family and friends of Mr Edward Rondon who tragically lost his life in a fire at an HDC Apartment at Charford Court last night. I also join the family of Ms Joan Gibson in praying for her full and speedy recovery from the effects of the fire last night,” Young posted on his Facebook page.
