Mavis Beckles
My Lord, it look like the house fires have been raising duh ugly heads again and leaving people in a lot o’ pain.
Every year the people at the Fire Service does be appealing tuh the Bajan public tuh stop lighting fires ’round duh houses tuh get rid o’ household rubbish or bush dat they cut down. Yet, still nuh matter how much dem appeal tuh the public, duh got some people who does still continue tuh light up because it suits dem.
Up tuh yesterday I was driving past a house out here by me, and notice a whole lot o’ smoke gine up in the air. When I slow down tuh take a close look as tuh where it was coming from, I see dat somebody was burning something in duh back yard and the billows o’ black smoke was coming all ’cross the road.
Strong wind
The thing is, this time o’ the year the wind does be fairly strong, and God knows what could happen if it pick up and carry something on ’pon somebody house. Next thing, the owner o’ the house could be at work, trying tuh make a dollar, only tuh get a call telling dem dat duh house just burn down flat. And dem poor people ain’t had one thing tuh do wid it, hear. Look, a thief does come in ya place and carry way some o’ ya things, but ya see fire, it doan show nuh kinda mercy at all.
When it start, it does just take off and clean up evah single thing in its path.
I read there in the Tuesday Nation newspapers ’bout the fire duh had up there in St Philip dat left whole 12 people homeless. The most painful part tuh me is when the fire ain’t start nuhwhere at you and still your house end up burning down.
Like in the case o’ the lady who was at work when she got the call dat her house had burnt down and the worst part was dat nothing was saved from the house. Now dat is painful. I cahn begin tuh understand how she must have felt when she get home and see what used tuh be her home wid evahthing in it now reduced tuh rubble.
I ain’t know how dat fire get started but the gentleman who also lost his house but managed tuh save a few items, say dat when the wife tell him dat the house next door was burning, he went fuh his hose and start tuh wet his house. He say dat he had tuh stop because the heat was too much fuh dem. You could imagine how hot and intense dah fire was dat after wetting the house fuh all dah time, the fire still take ovah and burn it down? The worst part of any fire is when somebody lose duh life in it, like the poor old fella there in Bush Hall the other night.
Tuh me, there ain’t nothing dat could be worst than dat. It is even harder fuh dem fellas who tried duh best tuh get he outta the house but had tuh give it up because the heat was too much.
Dem gine remember dat fuh the rest o’ dem lives.
I experience a similar thing like this out here by me already and the people loss evahthing ’cause not a soul was at home and nuhbody could get in the house tuh save a thing – even the motor cycle dat was in the yard and the car dat was parked outside the house.
One o’ the things I would like to see is, more fire stations around the island. When a fire breaks out in certain parts o’ the island, it does take too long fuh the trucks tuh get there and by the time duh reach, evahthing does be done aw’ready.
Mavis Beckles was born and raised in The Orleans. She has an opinion on everything.
