Senior Reporter
shane.superville@guardian.co.tt
Amid the tragedy of losing his elderly mother in a house fire, Sean Hosein says he is grateful for the support shown by Bagatelle residents who tried to extinguish the blaze and rescue her.
Hosein’s 82-year-old mother, Khairun Hosein, was in a bedroom on the second floor of the family’s Allick Terrace property at around 3.15 pm on Sunday when the fire broke out. A relative, who was on the ground floor, noticed smoke and ran outside to raise an alarm. Residents quickly formed a bucket brigade in an attempt to contain the fire before the arrival of the Trinidad and Tobago Fire Service.
According to a police report, officers from the Four Roads Fire Station arrived at the scene at around 4.12 pm and extinguished the blaze. Khairun Hosein’s burnt body was later found in the upstairs bedroom.
Speaking with Guardian Media yesterday, Sean Hosein said he was trying to maintain his composure with the support of his wife. He said he usually spent his afternoons talking with his mother.
While the cause of the fire has not yet been determined, Hosein said his mother had a habit of smoking, adding that she often said it was her only comfort.
He said he lives nearby and was not at his mother’s home when the fire started. He rushed to the scene after receiving a phone call from someone in the area.
“I does come here three times a day. When I come in the morning, I cook for her. She and I would go outside and talk. We would talk Biblical or her favourite Indian music.
Hosein said he was his mother’s only child and did not have any children of his own.
He said his mother was a lifelong resident of Bagatelle and thanked neighbours for their efforts to save her home.One of Hosein’s neighbours, Susan Sherwood, said she first spotted the flames from her kitchen window before joining other residents in the bucket brigade.
Sherwood said she often spoke with the elder Hosein and described her as well known and respected within the community.
“The last time I saw her was two weeks ago when her son took her to renew her identification card.”
