AN early morning fire yesterday at Crabwood Creek, on the Corentyne Coast, has destroyed a general store, a mechanic shop and two houses, leaving in its wake millions of dollars in damage.
The inferno also partially destroyed a third building belonging to Shereen Neasha who lives abroad, but occupied by one Azzaz Alli.
Businessman, Rishi Ghamandi, said he was awoken shortly after midnight by a crackling sound which seemed to be coming from the home of one of his neighbours, who had only the day before left for Suriname.
He said that sure enough, on looking north, he saw that it was indeed Chitra Ernest’s house that was on fire. The building, a two-storey edifice, also housed on the lower flat a mechanic shop which was run by one Pudha.
On seeing the fire, Ghamandi said he alerted his son, Rishi Lakeram, who lived in the same house with his wife and two children, that there was a fire next door before telephoning the Fire Service a short distance away.
Due to the proximity of the blaze, the 63-year-old said he and his extended family hurriedly left the premises, not knowing that it was the last they would see of it, for when the fire tenders arrived,  there was no water available and the firemen had to go in search of some.
Alas!  By the time they returned, the fire had already spread to their property and was swiftly engulfing it.
According to the distraught family, although members of the fire unit at Skeldon Estate had joined in the battle to save the building, it was too late.
Besides a well-stocked general store, the building also housed a lotto kiosk and retail phone card business, all of which were lost in the fire.
Lost also to the fire was a black Nissan Titan valued $4.5M; a Wrangler Jeep, PJJ 333, valued $7.5M; and a motorcycle, valued $150,000.
Police have mounted a full investigation.