The fire, which gutted two houses at Covent Garden, East Bank Demerara (EBD) on Tuesday and affected roughly 27 persons, was electrical in origin, according to the Guyana Fire Service (GFS).
The fire started at about 12:38 h at Lot 99 Second Street, Covent Garden. The two-storey wooden and concrete building was owned by Babita Persaud, which she occupied along with six others.
The Fire Service was alerted of the blaze, and water tenders and a water carrier from the Eccles and West Ruimveldt Fire Stations were dispatched to the scene.
When the blaze was extinguished, it was discovered that the fire spread to a nearby building at Lot 100 Second Street, Covent Garden.
Two motor cars were destroyed, and 11 persons were left home. The building is owned by Bisnauth Ramcholock and occupied by Erik Hubbard and three others.
Additionally, the blaze affected another two-storey wooden and concrete building located at Lot 98 Second Street, Covent Garden, owned by Angela Ramsawack, which she occupied along with 10 others.
A probe into the cause of the fire revealed that an overloaded electrical circuit resulted in arcing and sparking, which ignited nearby combustible materials.
