5 Years Later, Another Suspected Arson for Patricia Flowers

A family of four is tonight without a roof over their heads, following a fire in the Gungulung area on Saturday evening. Today, News Five spoke with Patricia Flowers, who almost five years to date was also a victim of a similar case of arson. Reporter Duane Moody files this story.

Duane Moody, Reporting

It has been an emotional rollercoaster for Patricia Flowers and her family as what appears to have been arson at their home in the Gungulung area is like déjà vu. On Saturday evening, a fire broke at their home. While the structure may seem intact, the flames gutted everything inside the house.

Patricia Flowers

Patricia Flowers, Fire Victim

“I can’t even explain and say what happened, why it happen. And like before the first fire, I neva deh home when dehn say “Oh dehn burn down dehn own house.” So I noh know weh dehn wah say now. I was out here by my ma di prepare fu my daughter boyfriend birthday when a neighbor –noh even the second neighbor, the third neighbor from we – run come and call my daughter and she run out di scream and say, “Ma di house.” I dah like what about the house. She say Shanaya say the house deh pan fire. So right away we start scatter bout Amara [Street] cause we noh even got wah vehicle right now and one of the young ladies weh come fi di party at the same time, she say come, I wah ker unu. We overtake everything on Mahogany [Street] – we noh even stop fi police. And I say God noh make this be true.  This can’t be wah nightmare or wah replay.”

But replay it was. As the family neared the corner, from a distance the flames could have been seen.

Patricia Flowers

“We reach Gungulung, all I see dah red smoke ina di sky and I still noh want believe it. But when I reach deh, dah mi house again. Why? God knows. How? Still di wait for the fire people and police fi tell we cause dehn noh work weekend. So I guess dah today.”

Back on July seventh, 2017, Flowers and her family were victims of a fire; evidence suggested that the fire was deliberately set. No one was charged for the incident. This time around Flowers says that someone lit a fire inside her yard the day before this incident.

Patricia Flowers

“When I reach deh, people di holla wire this that. But I noh know if yo gone deh, but noh wah wire burn. So if it was a wire, the whole neighborhood never mi wah got current cause all ah we hook up pan lamppost. My bathroom noh burn; my two gas tank deh in deh. The gas tank noh blow. The fire start from behind the house, according to a young man. I don’t even know him, but he run the neighbourhood di ask fi wah bucket. You could imagine, ina wah neighbourhood nobody have wah bucket fi lend somebody weh want help somebody weh dehn know noh deh home? Noh wah mop bucket, noh wah whatever weh yo use fi call bucket. The man say, “Miss, at least I coulda help do something, but nobody give me a bucket.” Ih say ih still run ina mi yard but ih noh find nothing to throw water until long after, somebody offer fi give ahn wah hose – weh part we wah plug it whatever. But by then, he jump back ina ih vehicle and he say he di call di fire engine, he call 911 and he get ina ih vehicle and drive out and meet the fire pump and bring it to weh part my house deh. He say by the time ih reach back, the blaze deh high. WASA dehn mi say we burn wi own house; fire engine find the gas bottle ina di sofa, squinge deh weh part dehn throw it off of the house top. We deh dah Gungulung; this end of June fuh make five years. The first time we move back there, two weeks away, the alarm gone off. The neighbor call, we reach deh – we find a tennis ina di mud; dehn di try come in through the bathroom. Two weeks away from this fire, somebody stone our house. If the bathroom still deh deh it have wah dent. Whatever object dehn stone, bruk it ina wah V. We cover it and bathe ina wi bathroom right so. Mi whole bathroom cave in and drop down, we still bathe and we noh try point finger. But this dah too much. And this dah because the day before, I come dah school and thing, fire mi deh in front of my yard and dehn out it. Because wah fire mi start ina yo yard and yo noh deh home? Who could do that? Then the next day the house burn down?”

Flowers says it will be difficult to recover from this and the entire family is now living with her mother. She asks for assistance.

Patricia Flowers

“Nothing ina dah house good except two gas tank weh deh ina di bathroom weh noh burn. And the fire start pan the house pan wah wall weh just picture frame deh; nothing else deh deh. So how the fire start, weh ih come from, not even bottom of the house burn.  All I could say Mister Duane, if the ministers dehn want come out and help we, dehn can. I di beg dehn fi come out. I dah noh really wah begging person, but this time we have to beg. The first time, nobody come out and help we because people throw the words that we burn down we own house. Do you believe somebody wah burn down dehn house two time ina wah row, ina years, when you di try fi fix back yo life?”

Anyone willing to assist can reach Patricia Flowers at 671-9290 or 673-7913.

Duane Moody for News Five.