An early morning fire in the town of New Amsterdam has reduced a popular restaurant and a nearby house to ashes. At least two persons are now homeless.
Around 2 o’ clock on Saturday morning, 46-year-old Charlotte Street, New Amsterdam resident Linda Christie said she was awakened by the screams of someone shouting “fire! fire!”. She said by the time she got out of her bed to look outside, she realised that the front section of her house was already engulfed in the flames that were bellowing from the Jokwesan’s Creole Restaurant located just next door.
“By the time I jump up after hearing someone screaming fire and I looked outside, I saw the fire coming from next door, when I looked to the front of my house, it was already red. I woke up my husband and we had to leave without grabbing anything, it was all happening very fast and the fire was moving fast”, Christie said.
She explained that she made an attempt to head back into the house to grab some money she had left behind but a young man pulled her down the stairs and lifted her to safety. She said “I was going back for the money because I am sick and it was money that I had to buy my treatment, it was all the money I had, but a young man prevented me from going back and he put me over the fence because the gate was locked and we could not even find the key”
Fire investigators believe the fire started from the kitchen of the restaurant. Loud explosions of gas bottles could be heard as the fire engulfed the building and “hop-scotched” its way to the home of the Christie’s.
Ms. Christie told News Source that this was not the first time that a fire had started in the restaurant. She said there were at least two previous occasions that she could recall, fires taking place in the same restaurant. On those occasions however, it was contained before spreading.
The woman explained that she has been living in the house with her husband for the past 12 years and they have lost many happy memories in the blaze. Another house was also scorched and the nearby Courts Furniture Store sustained some damages too as firemen were forced to douse the building with water as the fire approached.
Some residents complain that it took the fire service “too long” to get to the scene of the fire. While the Christie’s count their losses, they are also thankful for life and Linda Christie is especially thankful for the young man who stopped her from heading back into the burning building and got her to safety while her husband followed.
The couple said they were not able to save anything from their home.
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