By JADE RUSSELL

Tribune Staff Reporter

jrussell@tribunemedia.net

TEARS streamed down Janet Dorsett’s face as she clutched her loved ones in front of the charred remains of her family’s 25-year-old Coral Heights West home, destroyed in a suspected arson attack yesterday.

Mrs Dorsett and her family were asleep when they were awakened by the sound of a car alarm on one of her daughter’s vehicles.

The noise prompted her to go downstairs to check, but she was unprepared to find the car engulfed in flames. She quickly alerted her husband, and their two daughters ran downstairs in a panic.

“We were trying to put the fire out, but obviously it was too big for us, and it just spread very quickly,” she said, sitting on a plastic chair amid the ashes of her home.

The family of four escaped through the back door and over a fence before the house was fully engulfed.

Police said they were alerted shortly after 3am yesterday to a vehicle fire at a residence on Roberts Drive, Coral Heights West. Fire Services arrived to find the entire house and four vehicles ablaze.

Despite efforts to extinguish the fire, the home and vehicles were destroyed.

Fortunately, all four occupants escaped unharmed.

Police said they are still searching for the suspect, who was reportedly last seen wearing a white shirt and black trousers and is believed to have set one of the vehicles on fire.

When The Tribune visited the scene hours later, family and friends had gathered in support. Many were stunned that someone would intentionally set the fire.

Family members are hoping for swift justice, with surveillance footage reportedly showing the arsonist entering the yard.

Asked why someone would do this, Mrs Dorsett said she had no idea.

“I hope they read this and know that what the devil meant for evil, God is going to turn it for our good,” she said. “They need to be very careful, because the revenge is not coming from me, it’s coming from him.”

Her husband, Dwayne Dorsett, expressed gratitude that the family escaped unharmed, stressing that material items can be replaced, but life is a gift.

He added the home was insured, and they hope to rebuild in the future.

Before this, the family said they had never experienced anything like this, only a few break-ins.

Due to the fire’s rapid spread, Mr Dorsett said they were left with only the clothes on their backs.

He noted there was some delay in the Fire Department’s response but acknowledged the fire had spread too quickly for much to be done.

The nearest fire truck reportedly came from the Cable Beach area.