Claudia Gardner, Gleaner Writer

ESHER, Hanover:

A 43-year-old carpenter died in the community of Esher, near Lucea in Hanover, in a fire which also gutted the six-bedroom house he occupied, early yesterday morning.

He has been identified as Monty Fraser, also known as 'Lazarus', of Cove Road in the parish. Two other persons who were in the house at the time, including Fraser's 10-year-old son and another man, escaped unhurt.

According to District Officer Robert Barnes, of the Lucea Fire Department, firefighters received a telephone call shortly after 12 a.m. that a house in the community was on fire.

Remains found

He said that when the team of firefighters arrived at the scene minutes later, the house was already flattened. Fraser's charred remains were also found near what used to be a doorway of the dry-wall structure. He said the house had an estimated value of $1.5 million.

"Residents said they heard an explosion and then saw flames. Fraser was apparently trying to escape because someone said they heard a knocking, but he was apparently overwhelmed by smoke," Barnes said.

"We will be sending down a fire investigator to determine the cause of the fire because the place was so cumbersome when we arrived that we could not make a proper assessment of what happened."