-millions go up in flames as fire rips through bonds

THE owners and employees of Gafoors complex at Houston, East Bank Demerara watched on in shock on Monday evening as fire ripped through newly-constructed bonds which had replaced those destroyed in a fire five months ago.

As he busied to put out the blaze, an angry Fire Chief, Marlon Gentle, expressed frustration at having to confront another fire at the same location. “This place just had a fire, and we are dealing with the same crap all over again,” he told the Guyana Chronicle as he tried to direct a number of firefighters on the ground.

He told the Guyana Chronicle that the bonds which were engulfed in flames contained “a lot of combustible stuff”, and “due diligence” was not done in ensuring that fire prevention measures were in place.

He said that, at about 18:30hrs, the Fire Service first received reports of smoke and fire at Gafoors, and units at West Ruimveldt and Alberttown were dispatched. When it became clear that a major fire was underway, reinforcement was sent in.

A short distance away from where the firefighters were battling to contain the raging fire, proprietor of Gafoors Huston Complex, Sattaur Gafoor, sat quietly in a chair as family members, friends and employees watched with much disbelief. When approached, Gafoor, clearly in a state of shock, repeatedly said: “I really don’t know,” to the initial questions put by reporters.

However, it was not long after that the popular businessman opened up to the press. According to him, he arrived at the Huston Complex from Land of Canaan at around 19:00h, and while he was speaking with a manager, another employee brought him the devastating news.

At that time, Gafoor said, the entire complex had closed operation for the day. He explained that the manager was awaiting his arrival for a brief meeting before exiting the premises.

It is unclear where the fire started; however, up to press time, it had managed to consume Bonds Five and Six of the Houston Complex.

“I can’t believe it,” the distraught businessman said, while noting that he is at a loss to figure out what could have caused the blaze.

“Because of the last fire, up to now there is no electricity there. There is no combustible material there. So I am wondering what could have caused the fire. It is very difficult, very difficult; and we would have taken a lot of precautions to ensure that nothing goes wrong,” he told reporters.

Tiles and sanitary ware were among the materials stored in the two bonds.
Asked about a possible sabotage, Gafoor said only the investigator could make that determination. “Can’t say it is sabotage…only investigators can say that,” he posited.

Following the first fire, in May 2016, the Guyana Fire Service had furnished the management of the Houston Complex with a menu of recommendations, which according to Gafoor were implemented.
He, however, acknowledged that the sprinklers were not installed.

“We ordered the sprinklers. They should be here shortly. They are not available in Guyana, so we had to import them. It takes four (to) five months to get them,” he posited.

The livelihood of some 80 employees has now been affected by the blaze, but Gafoor hopes that no one will be out of a job. He is asking all employees of the Houston Complex to report for a meeting today at the said location.

Though saddened by the situation, Gafoor said the Fire Service’s response was “excellent”.

“Excellent! Can’t get better…I want to say that Mr. (Compton) Sparman (the Officer-in-Charge of Operations at the Guyana Fire Service) and Mr. (Winston) McGregor, they personally involved here and doing an excellent job.”

The police were also out in their numbers to allow for traffic control and to ensure that the Fire Service could do its work with minimum interference from curious members of the public who flocked the scene.

One employee told the Guyana Chronicle that workers had on Tuesday begun stocking the bonds which were built in place of those destroyed by a major fire on May 9. In that fire, the company had lost millions of dollars, and six firefighters had been injured in trying to put out that blaze.