UPDATE: Divali fire damages estimated to be over $750,000

A Siparia family is today grappling with the loss of their house which was gutted by fire on Sunday, the Divali Holiday. Dam­ages were es­ti­mat­ed to be over $750,000 as the family lost house­hold valuables, jewelry and mon­ey.

Baldeo Soogrim, who works as a san­i­ta­tion work­er with the Pe­nal/Debe Re­gion­al Cor­po­ra­tion, said preparations to celebrate the Divali Holiday had been made as he and his daughter, Vishanna, had laid out the deyas to be lit when they returned to their Rochard Road, Penal home. He said Vishanna had visited her uncle earlier that afternoon and Soogrim had taken his friend to visit a relative. But around 5:00pm, he got a call from his brother alerting him to his misfortune: that his house was on fire.

By the time he arrived home, the flames had engulfed his house and had spread to his neighbour’s abode. The neighbour, who was home at the time, tried to manage the blaze with a water hose. They called the Siparia Fire Station but the Soogrims’ house had already been destroyed by the time the fire officers arrived. The family lost everything in the fire, including the equipment Sooogrim used to ply his trade at the Corporation. He said, “I lost my weld­ing plant, five weed whack­ers, my pres­sure wash­er, two chop saw and my two cars.” He said he was unsure of how the fire began since he left nothing lighting in the house before he left. That Divali night, Soogrim said, he slept in his car and looked at his gutted home from the window.

An emotional Soogrim said he was un­sure how he would get mon­ey to re­build his home. His daughter recently started a job as an on-the-job trainee with the Ministry of Education.

Any­one willing to as­sist the fam­i­ly can con­tact Soogrim at 799-2454.

Police are continuing investigations.