An 89-year-old woman died in a fire at her Prescott Lane, Tunapuna home yesterday morning.
The woman was identified as Zobida Mohammed.
When Guardian Media visited the scene, Fire Station Officer (FSO) Dumas said Mohammed lived alone in a ground-floor apartment.
Dumas said the fire started around 8.50 am, after other tenants reported hearing a loud explosion. He said one tenant reported smelling gas around 7 pm on Saturday.
Dumas said fire officers from the Wrightson Road, Port-of-Spain Fire Station arrived around 9.15 am, as the fire truck from the nearby Tunapuna Fire Station was in Madras, Cunupia, carrying out a flood rescue.
He said the elderly woman was said to be able-bodied but had difficulty hearing. Dumas said once the fire was extinguished, Mohammed’s body was found in the bathroom of her apartment.
Three other people lived in the building but Dumas said no one else was hurt.
He said a second apartment building on the same compound was also damaged by the blaze but the fire officers were able to contain the flames.
The cause of the fire is yet to be determined.
While Guardian Media was there, Mohammed’s relatives were gathered at a house next door, weeping as they looked on as fire officers were putting out the blaze. However, they declined to speak to the media.
