radhica.sookraj@guardian.co.tt
As he left home to pick up his dead wife's ashes on Carnival Monday, Ramesh Ramlochan got a disturbing call that his home was on fire and his father Deo was trapped inside.
Already heading towards Mosquito Creek, Ramesh stopped the car, spun around and headed back home at #882 Cunapo Southern Main Road, Cushe.
When he got there, two neighbours had already braved the raging inferno and had brought Ramlochan's 77-year-old mother Polly to safety. His daughters Anita and Savita had already stumbled out, but Deo was still trapped inside, unable to walk as the thick smoke had rendered him unconscious.
Recalling the horror of the ordeal, Ramlochan said his next-door neighbour James Cedeno was the third person to brave the fire and he successfully brought Deo to safety.
"Two people tried before and couldn't make it. But he banned his nose and ran in, and he brought my father out of the fire," Ramlochan recalled.
Despite their best efforts, Ramlochan and his neighbours were unable to save the house.
But even though he was hit twice by tragedy, Ramlochan was full of gratitude that his parents and daughters were still alive.
"All we have now is our clothes. Everything burnt but that's okay. That is material; we have to thank God that we are alive," Ramlochan told Guardian Media.
He explained that four years ago, his wife Cintra Ramlochan developed complications related to diabetes which left her with an amputated leg. She had been suffering for ten years from complications. Ramlochan said on Valentine's Day, her condition got worse and the doctors at the San Fernando General Hospital had no choice but to amputate the second leg.
She later died and on Carnival Sunday, her funeral took place.
Ramlochan said it was customary for Hindus to pick up the ashes at the Creek and scatter it into the sea.
However, when the news broke that the house was on fire, they had to abandon this ritual and go back home.
Ramlochan said he was unsure what caused the fire.
Officials of T&TEC were supposed to visit the scene of the fire to do investigations. Ramlochan's beloved dogs and his pet parrot, which belonged to his late wife, also perished in the fire, making their agony even worse.
On the day of the funeral, the parrot was brought over to the coffin to say goodbye to his owner.
Ramlochan told Guardian Media he has been staying with a relative who lives close by.
"We don't know how we will go on as yet. Right now, we’re just waiting for the police and T&TEC to finish investigations," he said.
His van, which he uses to transport goods, also was destroyed in the blaze, along with an undisclosed sum of cash. Ramlochan works as a gardener.
Up to late yesterday, Deo remained in a stable condition but had to be given oxygen.
Anyone wanting to assist Ramesh Ramlochan with purchasing building materials for his home can contact him at 770-7893, or his daughter Anita at 348-6742.
