BASSETERRE, St. Kitts – A wooden house in Challengers village was this afternoon (June 25) completely destroyed by fire, which nearly claimed the life of a two-year-old child who was trapped inside.
Eye witness reports reaching SKNVibes indicate that at approximately 4:50 p.m. this afternoon, neighbours and relatives noticed black smoke emanating from the windows of a one-room wooden house at Stone Fort Estate in Challengers that was occupied by Alfred Pemberton, Maucia Murray and three children.
Relatives immediately rushed to the house to investigate only to realise that there was a massive blaze inside the building in which two-year-old Tiquanjay Akers was trapped.
One relative immediately called for the assistance of the Fire and Rescue Service while others swiftly proceeded to rescue the child from the flames.
After some effort to break into the house, the child was pulled from the burning structure and immediately transported to the JNF Hospital for treatment.
The child sustained burns to his arms and forehead but is in stable condition.
A unit from the Basseterre Fire and Rescue Services arrived on the scene shortly after being summoned and had extinguished the flames within minutes.
The one-room wooden house, however, could not be saved as the fire spread quickly and consumed the entire house and its contents.
In an exclusive interview with a relative of the child, SKNVibes learnt that he was left unattended inside the house.
His mother had apparently gone to work leaving her children in care of her 24-year-old sister, as is customary.
This afternoon however, this media house was told that the sister had to travel to Basseterre on an errand and had left the child in the care of another person.
At some point, while the sister was away, the child was left unattended when the fire started.
The exact cause of the fire remains unknown.
