Saved by ‘voice in head’

While asleep at home on Friday night, Sophia Burt said something told her to get up.

The voice in her head ultimately helped to save her life, as she awoke to find both her mother’s nearby house and hers in flames.

Unfortunately though, all that Sophia and her mother Shirley Burt managed to save were the clothes on their backs, as the fire spread quickly, destroying the two uninsured wooden houses at Coconut Walk, Hastings, Christ Church, which were also occupied by seven other people.

Shirley, 56, shared her three-bedroom home with sons Greg, Kevin, Renaldo and Dwayne, while Sophia lived with her three children Kemar, 16, Kaneisha, 14, and Kaliyah, seven.

Eight fire officers and two tenders from the Barbados Fire Service  responded to the blaze which occurred around 9 p.m.

Ann Rudder, who rents an apartment a short distance away, allowed Sophia and her three children to share her dwellings for a night, while Shirley and her children were offered shelter nearby.