A retired Chaguanas Borough Corporation employee and his wife returned home on Tuesday afternoon to find their Tunapuna house engulfed in flames after leaving just over an hour earlier to take their son to the airport.
Police said the fire destroyed the upper floor and roof of the two-storey concrete house belonging to Kungebeharry Samlal, 63, and his wife, Phulmatee Kadoo Samlal, 62, at the corner of Maingot Road and Monroe Road, Tunapuna.
Officers responded to reports of the blaze around 2.30 p.m. and arrived to find the residence engulfed in flames.
Fire officers led by Sub Fire Officer Cooseelal responded and successfully extinguished the fire.
A subsequent inspection revealed that the entire roof and upper floor, which contained two bedrooms, a study and a bathroom, had been completely destroyed. The damaged upper section later collapsed onto the ground floor, while the remainder of the house sustained extensive water damage.
Investigators said the couple told police they had left the property around 1.15 p.m. to take their 28-year-old son to the airport for a work-related trip. Their daughter was also away at work.
The couple said they were alerted to the blaze by a neighbour and rushed home, only to find firefighters battling the fire.
Kungebeharry Samlal, a retired checker with the Chaguanas Borough Corporation, and his wife, a retired customer service representative with WASA, were unharmed.
