FULLERSFIELD, Westmoreland — Fire of unknown origin gutted a seven apartment, concrete house at Fullersfield inside Westmoreland earlier this week, leaving a family of five homeless and some $3.5 million in damages.

Among the few items saved were a bed, articles of clothing and a part of a sound system. The affected family that include a 16 year-old Manning’s School student who is to sit CXC examinations next year, and two younger children, is now appealing for assistance.

According to Brad Watkins, the older sibling in the home, almost a million dollars in sound system equipment, VCRs and televisions were destroyed. His sister’s school books also went up in smoke and she is terrified at the prospect of exams, which she will sit in another few months, without the benefit of those books.

The fire, which is of unknown origin began at about 3:30 and soon engulfed the house, destroying furniture, clothes and the appliances in its wake.

It was the cane fire response unit that began the task of putting out the blaze, while fire fighters journeyed from some 20 miles away in Negril.

By the time the fire fighters who responded with a single unit and between six and eight fire fighters arrived, the SCJ’s response unit had combated the raging fire, leaving the fire department to do the final cooling down.

Residents have, however, criticised the fire department of tardiness even as they have sang praises for the cane fire unit.

Meanwhile, District Officer Avanet Samuels of the fire department, said they responded to the call promptly but that when they got there the fire had already engulfed the house. Two jets were discharged and the blaze was put under control.