FOLLOWING the fire in Regent Street which reduced four stores to rubble last week Chief Fire Officer, Marlon Gentle yesterday called for businesses to have proper fire protection to their buildings and lauded his ranks, the firefighters, who risked their lives to rescue three Chinese nationals, who were trapped inside one of the edifices. He noted that the firemen, who arrived on the scene, acted very quickly and mobilised the equipment and managed to cut a hole in the front shutter of the heavily grilled building where the Chinese operated a store and carved out a makeshift living quarter as well.
The Chief Fire Officer told the Guyana Chronicle that some of the owners of the buildings which housed stores were extended beyond their capacity and at the same time were over stocked with goods which gave firefighters an even harder time to actually get between the buildings to fight the fire.
He was however, grateful for the work of the fire fighters, who saved three lives and the work they did in preventing the fire from spreading to nearby buildings such as the City Mall among others.
Gentle stated that the cause of the fire is electrical and can be deemed as “accidental” since the electrical wiring was also done by the Chinese and it was unsafe and faulty, sparking just before the fire started inside the store manned by the Chinese.
The building, a duplex was rented to the Chinese for US$7,000 by Claire and Anthony Pires.
Fire on the morning of July 31, 2012 destroyed three buildings and damaged two others on Regent Street, Georgetown, as a result one man succumbed from a heart attack when he saw fire heading to his house/business while, several Chinese nationals were rescued from the store they were occupying where the fire also started.
Dead is Ramdat Shiopersaud, 65, the co-owner of Indra’s Fashion and Style Store located at Lot 114 Regent Street.
The man’s son, Balram Shiopersaud told the Guyana Chronicle that his mother woke him up to say that there was a fire next door. He said that when he got up, he saw fire emanating from the edifice and tried to get his family members out of the house. They also operated a store on the lower flat.
He added that his elderly father overwhelmed by the impending fire collapsed but was revived and rushed to a city hospital where he later died from a heart attack.
The Chief Fire Officer, Marlon Gentle told reporters that at 05:15 hrs the Guyana Fire Service (GFS) got the fire call and initially three fire tenders responded one from Alberttown Fire Station and two from Central Fire Station arrived on the scene.
He said that it was reported that one store was totally involved and the fire was spreading to another building and the firemen went into fire fighting operations and the alarm was sounded and another fire tender from Ruimveldt Fire Station responded.
He added that it was backed up with the high rise truck with the hose lane lorry since there was the need for a lot of water.
Gentle, who was at the time at the scene of the fire, told the media that the GFS also cut a hole through the wall of a building and rescued four Chinese nationals, who were trapped inside the store where the fire started and one of them is hospitalized nursing burns to the body.
The Fire Chief added that they want to talk to the male Chinese national, who sustained burns since he knows what transpired resulting in the fire early morning.
The Chief Fire Officer stated that Regent Street, is a commercial block, as such the buildings leap from one to the other with no definite separations and given the fact that the buildings are wooden in which extensions were added to some over time to adjust to the commercial needs the buildings would have had tremendous load that is stock piled with goods.
He explained that there is need for space since it is a commercial district with more robust construction in buildings but the GFS saved the buildings they could and they did their best.
Gentle noted that water was sourced from the South Road canal since North Road canal was heavily silted and they damaged a water pump trying to access water there.
The Chief Fire Officer stated that the GFS over time have been getting on top of fires quickly and there has been a reduction in fires this year and their response is better but businesses needs to raise the level of fire protection, to heed to fire safety measures and not to add on extensions to their buildings and do not over stock goods also.
Gentle said that the GFS responded quickly because he came to the scene from Campbellville and it took him four minutes to do so and by that time the GFS was already there fighting the fire.
He added that the GFS managed to save the Lucky Dollar Store but the western wall was damaged, however the building is intact with the furniture water-soaked and damaged. The building also housed a restaurant and bar but three buildings including Boyo’s Fashion, Classic Styles, Indra’s Fashion and a Chinese store were destroyed but the City Mall was also saved.