15 displaced as fire guts home in Naggo Head
Published:Thursday | January 27, 2022 | 12:10 AMAsha Wilks/Gleaner Writer
A suspected arson attack on Tuesday morning at approximately 10 a.m. has left 15 persons in White Lane in Naggo Head, Portmore, displaced.
Homeowner Collette Williams, 56, told The Gleaner on Wednesday that she believes that the house was set ablaze by arsonists amid spiralling violence that has seen several persons killed and homes torched in recent months.
The Waterford Fire Brigade said that the cause of the fire is yet to be established.
This tragedy has comes as a surprise to Williams, who said she has always lived peacefully within her community.
Acting Senior Deputy Superintendent Joshua Davis of the St Catherine Division disclosed that the estimated cost of damage is $5 million.
Eleven firefighters were deployed from the Waterford Fire Station at 10:58 a.m. with two units - a water pumper truck and a water tender.
The single-bedroom home, which was divided into quarters to accommodate all its residents, was burned to the ground.
Furniture, clothes, appliances, and other belongings were destroyed.
Residents in the neighbourhood came out on Wednesday afternoon to give assistance in the clean-up efforts and have accommodated the burnout victims in the short term.
“I born and I grow here. I don’t even born a hospital. I am home delivery,” said Williams, who is determined to not be driven out of the community.
“I have nowhere to go ... so any assistance me can get, I would be very grateful because a hand-to-mouth I work,” added Williams, whose job is to remove fish scales at a restaurant.
Despite losing all her life’s belongings, Williams expressed divine confidence that she will rebuild.
“I am standing here, and I am stressed out, and me ask Father God to don’t make me shed tears”
She is concerned, however, by the flare-up in violence.
“That is what is happening in Naggo Head, the killings and all these things, the fight against one another,” she lamented.
Williams is pleading for the public for a few sheets of zinc for a roof.
On December 30, a suspected arson attack uprooted 16 families from their White Lane homes, leaving them destitute.
Persons wishing to assist Collette Williams can contact her at 876-501-4503.