The Tribune

By LYNAIRE MUNNINGS

tribune Staff Reporter

lmunnings@tribunemedia.net

CAROLYN Lewis and her family lost their home of 30-plus years in an inferno just two weeks before Christmas, leaving them vulnerable, emotional and uncertain about the future.

The fire consumed the second floor of the two-storey structure on December 10. The building suffered significant smoke and water damage.

“Oh God, my whole world, I was just, it’s like I was in a dream per se,” Mrs Lewis told The Tribune yesterday after a blaze destroyed her residence on West Bay Street, which housed 10 people. “I literally was in a daze, and it was just so unreal to see.”

“I’ve been living here, like I said, over 30 years, and my whole life up to this point is just gone.

“It’s like it’s unreal.”

Mrs Lewis, a wife and mother, said after receiving the call about the fire, she dropped everything and rushed home.

 “By the time I got here, I couldn’t come down the hill because of the fire engine,” she said.

 “There were like three of them here, and they were fighting the fire. There was a lot of smoke and I could see the flames coming from my room.

  “For some reason, even though they contained it to those two rooms on that end, it was hard to put out, so it really took them hours.”

 Mrs Lewis showed The Tribune what was left of the residence during a tour yesterday.

 The damaged roof smelt smoky. The walls, floors and furniture were discoloured.

 Two of the four bedrooms were reduced to ashes.

 Mrs Lewis said electrical issues from a wall outlet started the fire.

 She, her husband, and two daughters, ages 16 and 12, are temporarily staying in a one-bedroom apartment until next week, thanks to a family friend.

 Ms Lewis said her 70-year-old mother, who recently celebrated her birthday, is distraught.

 “I am thankful that everybody is okay and every now and then I burst out in tears because I just think of some people that don’t have a positive outcome as to say, well, somebody died in the fire, and we don’t have to say that we lost somebody, so that alone is just keeping my spirits up to know that nobody was harmed and that everybody has their lives,” she said.

 She said Sandy’s Limited helped the children with uniforms, along with her church family and various donors. However, she is appealing for donations for building repairs.

 “We would be needing a lot of building materials,” she said. “The whole roof has to come off. That section of the house has to be completely broken down because of the walls. They cracked in the fire.”

 She can be reached at 1-(242)-434-8855.