Shastri Boodan
The Chaguanas home of attorney Kiel Tacklalsingh was gutted by fire on Friday night. Tacklalsingh said he was at his Bhim Street, Ramsaran Park home when he was alerted by a neighbour sometime after 7 pm that the structure was on fire. He managed to rescue the family’s pet dog and escape from the blazing building.
His mother, Vashti Tacklalsingh, was not at home when the tragedy struck. Tacklalsingh was on the scene assisting investigators from the fire services to determine the cause of the blaze. The attorney said he was awaiting a report from the fire services before he could comment on the cause of the blaze.
When Guardian Media visited, several of Tacklalsingh's relatives and colleagues were present. Caroni Central MP Arnold Ram, who is also a lawyer, as well as attorney Anees Rahaman were there to lend support.
Ram said he was eagerly awaiting the fire service's report. "Fire is not an easy thing to deal with," he said. Ram said the whole house was gutted despite the Chaguanas Fire station being just two kilometres away. The MP said the fire service was strapped for resources to be able to act efficiently.
Richard Ramkissoon, a Chaguanas businessman, who is also one of Tacklalsingh’s uncles, said they were fortunate that nobody was hurt. "A fire is a tragic thing and a tragic loss, no matter what you try to do to recover, you can’t recover. The whole family is in a state."
Ramkissoon said it was too early to speculate as to what caused the fire. He said Tacklalsingh was supposed to be at a Divali celebration hosted by the Chaguanas West MP in Felicity but was resting before he attended.
