An early morning fire ravaged the home of a Port of Spain family, while neighbours banded together to contain the blaze and ensure the family's safety.
While the residents praised the efforts of the T&T Fire Service, they complained that the officers were not well equipped to reach the high-rise apartment.
They also point out that all the emergency contingencies in the HDC building failed, including sprinklers and fire alarms.
Sheldon Lee's apartment, located on the ninth floor of the apartment building, was partially destroyed.
He says he was alerted to the blaze by neighbours, and with their help attempted to extinguish it.
During the process, he suffered burns about his body but is thankful that he was able to help prevent the fire from spreading to neighbouring apartments.
“At about half-past 7 o’clock, I smelt some smoke coming from the bedroom and went to see what was going on,” Lee told Guardian Media.
“The mattress was on fire. The fan was on fire. I took the mattress and turned it upside down to try to cover the fire, but the fire had reached the curtains and moved overhead, and continued blazing non-stop,” he said. “I tried to put out the fire, but it continued burning.”
Lee, a father of two, says his family will seek temporary shelter with relatives.
He suspects the fire may have been caused by an electrical issue, noting that there had been a problem with the electrical panel box at the front of the apartment for some time.
Lee believes a power surge may have led to the fire starting.
Meanwhile, the Fire Service’s Divisional Fire Officer for Public Relations, Welfare and Research, Dexter Hodge, told Guardian Media all vehicles with hydraulic lifts are being serviced at this time.
The mandatory servicing follows an incident earlier this year in which a fire officer was injured when he fell from a lift.
This morning, fire officers were only able to reach the fifth floor of the HDC apartment building. However, Hodge said they were able to access the ninth-floor apartment using the stairs.