A POPULAR bakery in Buxton, East Coast Demerara, was destroyed by fire early Monday morning, leaving the shocked owner counting over $10M in losses and some 30 persons unemployed.Many persons were in tears when the Guyana Chronicle visited the scene as they stared in disbelief at what used to be ‘Benjamin’s Bakery’, owned by Wesley Benjamin. He said that there is an ongoing land dispute and the possibility of arson must be considered.

Meanwhile, the fire service is continuing its investigations to determine the cause of the blaze.

One distraught employee said that she received a call at around 1:00hrs, from one of her relatives who lives nearby, informing her that the bakery was on fire.

“I am not sure what caused the fire but when I was there the building was already in flames so all I could do was call over some of the neighbours to help me throw some water before the fire service arrived,” said the employee.

Although the fire service responded quickly, almost everything was lost, the employee said, while pointing out that the building was under construction and was expected to be completed at the end of March.

Persons in and out of the community were known to have relished the delicacies produced by the bakery. However, the fire will not shut down Benjamin’s operations because he intends to reach out to customers through his other branch. Work is expected to commence soon on the restoration of the Buxton business.

Recently, there has been a noticeable increase in reports of fires in Georgetown, as well as on the East Bank and East Coast of Demerara.
Fire Prevention Officer, Andrew Holder said between late 2016 and February 2017, the Fire Service has been able identify situations which point to fire being set by persons as a way of dealing with domestic disputes.