Tonight a family is homeless after a fire destroyed their Jasmine Street home on Saturday night.
It's an unfortunate incident in which the authorities are still searching for clues and tonight the only thing that's certain is that the burns the man of the house sustained in the fire will scar him for the rest of his life.
I was on the scene today and here's what his family told me about the horrific accident.
This charred structure is all that's left of the house that Lincoln Vaughn and Desiree Hamilton called home.
ASP Fitzroy Yearwood, Communications Officer
"Desiree Hamilton, 37-year-old, reported to police that she was inside her room when she smelt what appeared to be smoke coming from outside and when she stepped outside her room, she saw the house engulfed in flames. The estimated cost of damages are not known to us as yet and fire department are leading this investigation to establish whether or not it was caused by some accelerant or so."
But there are many unknowns about this particular fire and this morning when our team visited the scene they found Vaughn's sister and niece sifting through the rubble and trying to photo document the remains of the home. They told us the little that they've learned about the blaze.
Esther Vaughn, Sister of Burn victim
"The fire started in the back room and he was laying down and he heard some sparks and the next thing he knew he felt heat on his back so he got burned in his back and on his two ears and he just ran out of the house."
"When he got out the house, some guys beat him up out here, so he has a broken nose and the burns."
Cherisse Halsall:
"Why would they bear a victim of a fire?"
Esther Vaughn, Sister of Burn victim
"I don't know, and he is an old guy 67, I don't know who want, it's just ridiculous and it hurts because it's somebody's brother, somebody's father, somebody's uncle."
And that's the state that firefighters would have found the elderly man in: burned, battered and desperate for help.
Kenneth Mortis, Station Supervisor
"We know that he sustained an injury to his nose, we know that he had a swelling on his nose and an injury to the face, again it's a very complicated situation because what harm or what threat could a 67-year-old individual posed to the community. I was made to understand he is well-known by the neighbours in the Jasmine Street area, for whatever reason these characters may have inflicted bodily harm on him. That is something that we are still trying to determine."
Vaughn's sister says that the incident has been painful and changed everything for their family.
Esther Vaughn, Sister of Burn victim
"It really hurt because my brother is someone who helps people as much as can and he's blind in one eye and partially in the other eye so he doesn't see well and he is staying with me at this time because I won't let him stay on the street and he's in a lot of pain and that hurts to see my brother in a lot of pain, you know and he's the one that usually protects me so you know it really hurts."
The Fire Department is still searching for answers:
Kenneth Mortis, Station Supervisor
"The nature of this particular fire still has us a bit stumped so to speak, we understand the building did have electricity, contrary to the previous information we received. We are of the opinion that the fire could not have started as a result of an electrical flaw, the room itself posed as a fire load and the fire spread from there, like I said earlier Mr. Vaughn did make an additional attempt to out it, but he wasn't successful."
"We are trying to figure out if this fire was a malicious act what would have been the motive in destroying this building and almost taking the life of Mr. Vaughn you know we are thankful that he is up and on the way to recovery however that will be the final pieces of the puzzle."
If you'd like to assist the Vaughn family to recover their home and belongings you can reach out to Lincoln Vaughn's sister Esther at 614-0412 or see her at the post office on North Front street.
