More than 40 persons, mostly Cuban nationals, have been left homeless after a fire ripped through a three-story apartment building in Fifth Street, Alberttown on Tuesday evening.

The Guyana Fire Service was alerted to the blaze just before 7pm and responded with multiple fire tenders.

The mostly wooden building was completely engulfed in flames when the Fire Service arrived on the scene. Several persons could be seen running from the building, with just a few of them being able to grab some of their belongings.

Firemen remained at the scene battling the blaze for more than an hour before eventually bringing it under control and containing it to the one building. Two nearby buildings which house two shipping companies were saved, with minimal damage from the smoke and water.

At the scene, several nationals from Cuba and the Dominican Republic were openly distraught as they complained that they had lost their documents and other belongings in the fire.

News Source understands that the building, which once housed a secondary school years ago, had been converted into an apartment building with a number of rooms that were rented to mostly foreign nationals. The Guyana Fire Service and the Police are both conducting investigations.

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