‘That could have been me’ - Neighbour with twin babies traumatised by Grants Pen blaze
Published:Monday | February 4, 2019 | 12:00 AMPaul Clarke/Gleaner Writer
As the community of Belgium in Grants Pen, St Andrew, tries to pick up the pieces from last Thursday’s deadly blaze which claimed the lives of two-year-old twins Nahelia and Nahalia Pinnock, one neighbour is finding it particularly hard to cope.
Kerry-Ann Wallace, herself a mother of twins, told The Gleaner that she has been having a hard time dealing with the tragedy.
“That could have been me, as I just have twins, too,” she reflected as she expressed concern for Osheen Rogers, the mom who lost her infants.
Recalling how she had been taking note of how Rogers cared for the Pinnock twins as she herself was expecting, Wallace said, “It hurts me deep down. The impact has been tremendous. I couldn’t even eat the following day. Neither did I sleep Thursday night. It is really devastating,” she said.
“Honestly, we as adults always have it in our minds to say that our children will bury us; no parent looks towards burying a child. We have in our minds that we going to get old and the children will grow and that we will die before them. So imagine what the mother is feeling,” she said.
COMPLETELY SHAKEN
Relatives of the Pinnock twins say they are nowhere near coming to grips with the tragic loss.
“The family is completely shaken. Three days later, and we still cannot believe what has happened,” said Asadeem Dixon, the twins’ 21-year-old cousin.
“Our grandmother is still searching through, in her mind, what she could have done differently. She has been crying over the incident so hard that she had to be rushed to the doctor.”
He knows more than others in his family about the horrors of a fire, having survived a massive blaze several years ago in the same community. The physical scars are still present to tell the tale.
“Their deaths have left the family searching for answers we all know are not forthcoming, but it’s the only thing we can do. Their mother is trying to put out her best, but deep down, we see her hurt and loss that nothing will be able to fix,” he said.
Dixon described Nahelia and Nahalia, who were said to be asleep when the blaze started, as bright and promising with inquisitive minds.
“Trust me, they were very bright and a joy to be around. They would ask you all types of questions because they wanted to know as much as possible, even at that young age. Their deaths have left a hole that will be hard to fill,” he said, sadness etched on his face.
DEADLY BLAZE
The twins’ grandmother, who had them in her care at the time of the blaze, had reportedly just put them to bed and stepped outside to hang out some clothes, with another grandchild keeping watch while they slept. Minutes later, the young child reportedly ran outside in a panic.
Steve Rogers, the twins’ uncle, explained that soon after, smoke had filled the air and orange-red flames could be seen coming from the house.
“That was when my grandmother tried to get inside the house to save the girls. She got burned in the head trying to rip the grille off and had to be pulled away from the house. I tried barefooted to save them, too, but the roof almost fell down on top of me, so I ran out. The fire was too big.
“By then, we heard no more screaming. They were gone,” Rogers said.
The fire, which gutted three dwellings, displaced 21 persons, including six children.
Meanwhile, the police are urging parents and caregivers to properly supervise and protect children in their care.
“Anyone found in contravention of this will be dealt with the full provisions of the law. Parents and caregivers are being reminded that it is an offence to leave their children at home without adequate supervision,” a release from the police read on Saturday.
The warning comes against the background of reported incidents where children have been injured or killed in circumstances where lack of supervision or insufficient protection has been identified as a contributing factor.
“The police will be fully enforcing the Child Care and Protection Act and other attending laws governing the safety of our children where parents or caregivers are found to be negligent,” the release said.