A FATHER OF TWO awoke to find flames coming from his garage during the wee hours of yesterday, but managed to get it contained so that the house in Belleville, St Michael, was spared.
Ismail Mohammed’s car and van were destroyed and the fire also damaged part of a nearby storehouse and a section of a mosque.
“The dogs were barking and barking so I got up. I came outside and I heard a puff puff noise. When I looked I saw a big orange light and the garage columns were on fire. At that point I woke up my family and tried to get everyone out of the house,” he recounted.
The businessman said the incident left his 12-year-old son and nine-year-old daughter scared.
“It is rough but as long as you have life and good health, you got to give thanks,” he reasoned.
The taxi operator said he now had to deal with the loss of the two vehicles he used in his business, which were on property owned by Ebrahim Mohammed, 72.
The 40-year-old exotic bird enthusiast, who also makes bird cages for the Barbados Cage and Aviary Bird Association, said he lost some of the material he used to make homes for the animals along with auto parts.
A storeroom housing building material owned by Mohammed’s neighbour Khubchand Karani was destroyed.
Fire officers from Probyn Street, The City and Worthing, Christ Church, responded around 2:58 a.m.
Police are investigating. (SB)