An elderly woman was saved, but her St James home was gutted after a fire ravaged the single-storey property on Saturday night.
Shortly before 10 pm, fire officers responded to a report at the corner of Jerry and Church Street at the home of Yvonne Roberts.
Flames were protruding through the roof of the building when the officers arrived from the Woodbrook Fire Station.
The fire took place less than 200 metres from the St James Police Station.
There were fears that the elderly woman was trapped inside.
However, officers were able to locate her a short distance away from the house. She was not hurt.
They were able to extinguish the fire at around 10.30 pm, but the blaze had already destroyed the structure leaving only a shell of the property.
A Toyota Corolla, which was parked in the driveway of the garage of the property was also burnt.
When the Guardian Media visited the house yesterday, smoke could still be seen rising from the smouldering rubble in what used to be the living room of the three-bedroom house. Several pipelines in the home were still active, with water sprinkling from one of the lines.
Residents said they believed that an electrical problem caused the fire. Roberts had lived alone but had recently allowed a tenant at the home.
They said the house was initially owned by former basket-baller and pharmacist Hollis Roberts and had fallen to her care following his death years earlier.