TIMELY intervention by a neighbour around 3 am on November 7 may have saved the lives of 15 people, including seven minors, in Vega de Oropouche after he alerted them to a fire which broke out in a mini-mart at the front of the compound.

In less than 30 minutes, three houses to the back of the mini-mart were ablaze as tanks of LPG cooking gas in the mini-mart exploded and further fuelled the inferno.

The quiet village on the outskirts of Sangre Grande, along the Toco Main Road, was awakened by the neighbour as he was preparing to go to the market to sell. He quickly stopped his vehicle and began honking his horn and shouting, "Fire, fire!"