An 85-year-old man died early this morning when his two-storey home located at Scottsburg, Corriverton, Berbice, went up in flames. His elderly wife managed to escape by jumping from a window.
The fire is believed to have been started from a lit candle since the Guyana Power and Light Company (GPL) had cut the power in that village this morning.
The deceased has been identified as Stanley Brown, an amputee who shared the upper flat of the property with his wife, Marvette and the lower flat with his daughter, her husband, and their two children.
According to information received, neighbours heard screams coming from the property just before 06:00 hrs and when they checked, they saw a part of the upper flat engulfed in flames. Persons tried to rescue the couple but the windows and doors were heavily grilled.
The elderly man was trapped inside. His wife managed to jump from a window just before the fire engulfed the entire building and had to be taken to the hospital for treatment.
The couple lived most of their lives at the now-destroyed property.
