60-y-o and 11-y-o perish in North Street fire

A 60-year-old man and an 11-year-old boy were trapped inside a North Street house and killed after fire ripped through the premises early Tuesday afternoon.

The charred remains of Junior Barrett, 60, and 11-year-old Jaydon Whyte were found inside the house at 60 North Street following the blaze.

The Jamaica Fire Brigade was alerted at approximately 12:50 p.m. and responded to the scene along with members of the Jamaica Constabulary Force.

As flames engulfed the house, residents desperately tried to get inside, kicking in a window and door in a frantic effort to determine whether anyone was trapped.

But the intense heat and thick smoke forced them back.

Shane Parnther, who was among those who tried to help, recalled the desperate moments.

“We try our best fi put the fire. We go up there, kick of the window and door. We a look fi see any a the occupants of the house. The heat cave in pon we and the smoke so we had to come back down.”

The grim discovery of the bodies left the community devastated.

Parnther said residents were particularly heartbroken because they initially believed everyone inside had managed to escape.

“It sad. Mi feel a way say we never get fi save them but we never know. We think dem did come out, if we did know dem up there same way maybe we woulda try harder.”

Barrett and Whyte’s remains were removed to the morgue pending post-mortem examinations.

The cause of the fire has not been disclosed.

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