Trapped by his fear of being outdoors, Raffie Mohammed was burnt alive in a fire which destroyed his home in Penal on Monday afternoon.
His sister Nazra Baksh, 52, who risked her life in a futile bid to save him, suffered extensive burns to her arms, back and legs as she tried to pull him out from under a swing in the upper floor of their house at Tulsa Branch Trace, Penal.
Mohammed, 47, had suffered from Down syndrome since birth and had never before left the safety of his home. He lived with his 87-year-old mother Shairoon Mohammed, following the death of his father Sonny Mohammed two years ago.
Raffie Mohammed who died in the fire.
Police said both mother and son were at home with their caretaker Judy Toll when the fire started in a back room. Toll said she was taking a shower when she overheard Mohammed saying he was smelling smoke. She said prior to the fire she put on a light and heard a sparking sound but did not see any sparks so she never thought it was something to worry about.
“I was bathing and I dried myself real fast and when I opened the door and went in the back the room was in flames,” Toll recalled.
She quickly ran to get Shairoon, who needs the aid of a walker to move around and took her to safety. Shairoon then began calling out to Mohammed but he did not respond.
Family members said they believe when he was faced with the terror of the fire, Mohammed frantically started looking for a place to hide.
“He went under the swing and I tried to pull him out but he refused,” Toll said.
Toll said she then started to scream for help.
Mohammed’s sister Nazra Baksh, who lives across the street, rushed in to help. But she tried in vain to get a whimpering Mohammed out. By then the entire house was in flames and parts of the burning rafters began falling down.
Toll said Nazra was so badly burnt that her skin started to fall off with the heat. Toll began begging her to leave but she kept trying to pull Mohammed out saying she did not want him to die.
Eventually, a passer-by ran inside after hearing the women screaming. He pulled Baksh and Toll to safety. Toll suffered superficial burns to her arms while Shairoon suffered abrasions to both knees and her toes.
Mohammed remained crouched by the swing while the flames engulfed his body. A team of firefighters led by Fire substation officer Robinson and including Fire station officer Samaroo, Divisional Fire officer Zamore and Assistant Divisional Fire Officer Dookie and Arjoon arrived on the scene. But by then the entire house was completely engulfed.
Mohammed’s burnt remains were later viewed by a District Medical Officer who ordered it removed to the Forensic Science Centre, St James, where an autopsy will be performed. The cause of the fire has not yet been ascertained.
Toll said she had nothing cooking on the stove and there was no appliance plugged. She said Mohammed was never one to play with fire, adding that the house did not even have matches. Penal police are continuing investigations.