The Tribune

By JADE RUSSELL

Tribune Staff Reporter

jrussell@tribunemedia.net

A FIRE destroyed Melva McPhee’s Abaco home on her birthday, five years after Hurricane Dorian tore her previous house to shreds.

The 67-year-old was celebrating her birthday in Grand Bahama on Saturday when her daughter called her with the bad news.

She said the reality of losing her home a second time in five years shook her.

“I was sitting at the table having my dinner and I just cry,” she said.

She said she lost over $10,000 in furniture and clothes.

When Hurricane Dorian destroyed her previous house, she lost photos of her late husband. Now, the fire has burned pictures of her children and grandchildren.

She said the fire started when her 17-year-old grandson used their portable gas stove –– powered by fuel in a can –– in the kitchen. She said the gas tank was not set correctly, causing the stove to explode when it was turned on.

 She said that although the flame’s flares hit her grandson, knocking him back to the refrigerator, no one was hurt.

 “I’m okay because, you know, it’s only material things,” she added. “And you know I feel it, but it’s okay if it could be replaced back.”

 Mrs McPhee, a retired Hope Town Inn Marina supervisor, rebuilt her house about four years ago with the help of her son, who paid for everything.

 She said she does not have money to rebuild her house again and is staying with her son in Grand Bahama indefinitely.

 Mrs McPhee said she was fond of her house, enjoying its wooden features and green and tan colours.

 She called it her “little house on the Prairie”.

 She also urged people to be careful with portable gas stoves, saying they can be a safety hazard.