The Tribune

By JADE RUSSELL

Tribune Staff Reporter

jrussell@tribunemedia.net

A JOHNSON Road mother of two returned home from work and back-to-school shopping on Wednesday to find the house where her family had lived since 2019 badly damaged by fire, leaving them temporarily displaced.

Diana Desir lived in the three-bedroom home with her boyfriend, their one- and two-year-old children and her boyfriend’s mother.

Ms Desir was at work when the fire occurred. Her boyfriend’s mother and two nieces were inside the house at the time.

She said she could not say what caused the fire or exactly when it started.

According to Ms Desir, her boyfriend’s mother was sitting on a couch in the front room when someone outside repeatedly sounded a car horn.

“She didn't pay attention to it because she's not expecting anybody,” she said, adding that the driver eventually got out of the vehicle and shouted for everyone to leave the house because the meter box was on fire.

“That's when she got up,” Ms Desir said, “her and her nieces from the back room to hurry up come to the front and come out the house.”

The driver contacted police and fire services.

Ms Desir said her boyfriend’s mother was unable to telephone the family because her phone was destroyed in the fire and she could not remember their telephone numbers.

Ms Desir did not learn what had happened until she returned home at around 3pm after collecting her children and doing back-to-school shopping.

The mother said she broke down when she saw the damage.

“What could you do?” she said. “You could just breakdown crying because it was unexpected.”

Ms Desir recalled leaving the house for work earlier that day with no indication anything was wrong.

“I pulled out, everything was fine,” she said. “I drove to work.”

She said she had spent part of that morning thanking God for what she had.

“Then to come home and then we have nowhere to live,” Ms Desir said, “it was devastating.”

Her immediate concern was what would happen to her two young children.

“It's not easy finding apartments or anything like that nowadays,” she said, “and a lot of apartments are not kid friendly. So that's my biggest dilemma right now.”

The family lost clothes, photographs, documents and some of the children’s school items in the fire.

However, Ms Desir said they were able to recover her son’s school shoes and school bags.

“We had to go back today to try and find their birth certificates because we couldn’t find them,” she said, “and thankfully they weren't burnt or anything.”

Her eldest son is preparing for his second year of school, while her youngest is due to begin school for the first time.

Ms Desir said donations from members of the public and assistance from her employer have helped the children prepare for the new school year. Other people have also donated clothing to the family.

Her employer paid for the family to stay at a hotel for several nights, while the Department of Social Services has assisted them with temporary shelter.

The family hopes eventually to find another permanent home.

“You never expect it, but things happen,” Ms Desir said. “You just got to do what you have to do and move on.”

She said she was trying to remain strong for her children and was grateful that her family escaped the fire safely.