Electricity is also being ruled out as the possible cause of the fire yesterday that destroyed the attic of basketball legend Clinton 'Pulu' Lightburn's West Canal house.
The fire started in the attic where Pulu's brother Ray lived as the rest of the building suffered only water damage. But that's no consolation for Pulu who today told us he lost a part of his 'temple.' He took Keith Swift on a tour of the damage and memories.
Keith Swift Reporting,
The morning after: fire investigators literally sifted through the ashes in the attic and insurance inspectors surveyed the damage. Looking on is the building's owner basketball legend Clinton "Pulu" Lightburn who has 35 years of memories invested in 81 West Canal or as it was known back in the day - "The Temple."
Clinton "Pulu" Lightburn, Landlord
"We've got some great memories, basically this has been the headquarters for most of my basketball teams. So anyone that has played with Happy Home Builders, Jah Jam, Acros, and all the teams that I have been controlled of have been managed from here. The guys used to call it the 'temple.' As a matter of fact cause this is where we used to meet before games and after practice. We even used to have our pre-game meets here."
"It's also where I keep a lot of memorabilia. I lost a lot of trophies, newspaper articles, books, and stuff of personal value. We used to hang here everyday, you had over a thousand people that have been through that attic. It is internationally known, a lot of my friends used to sit up there and check out on the scene on the canal."
But yesterday only flames could be seen streaming from the top floor. That's where fire investigators say the fire started, here in the attic. They don't yet know the exact cause but they have ruled out an electrical fault.
Keith Swift,
"Being that you lived here most of your life did the building have a history of electrical problems?"
Clinton "Pulu" Lightburn,
"No we have never had a problem with the electricity or any other thing and I was living here since I was 11."
And it has also been 11 years since he left 81 West Canal. So now Lightburn's concern is more for tenants who have since his departure made this address their home.
Clinton "Pulu" Lightburn,
"I just hope things work out for all the tenants that were in the house cause it was basically poor people and a lot of them lost their personal stuff."
The house was insured with F & G Insurance through the Development Finance Corporation for $115,000.