…losses estimated in the millions

A FIRE of so far unknown origin last evening destroyed the storage bonds of Payless Variety Store and Comfort Sleep at the Eccles Industrial Site.
The Guyana Chronicle was informed that the fire started in the section of the bond that houses items for the Payless Variety store.
A security guard on duty at the Comfort Sleep administrative building said that he was in his guard hut on the phone when he heard a loud explosion. Then he saw what appeared to be a ball of fire rushing through a window from the Payless section of the building.
He said that the fire-ball landed at the side of the section of the building which houses the storage bond for Comfort Sleep and within seconds that entire section of the building was engulfed.
The man said that he immediately telephoned the Fire Department and alerting his employer and senior managers of the company.
Speaking with the media at the location last evening, a member of the administrative staff who gave her name as Amanda Chung noted that she was also alerted of the fire by the security.
She said that when she arrived at the scene the entire building was in flames.
She repeated what the security guard told this publication.
She said that the building was used to store chemicals and raw materials for the making of the mattresses.
Meanwhile operations manager of the company, Deodat Narine, who was in tears, said that the 30 plus employees who worked at the storage will remain employed by the company.
The man explained to the media that fire coming at this time is a real blow to the company, given the upcoming Christmas season.
He said that the company already has commitments and would have already accepted orders from both customers locally and overseas. He described the losses as in the millions.
The Fire Service responded to the call promptly and tried desperately to save the building. But they were only able to contain the fire and prevent it from spreading to other nearby buildings.
Last evening this newspaper was unable to contact anyone associated with the Payless Store for comment on the fire.

(By Leroy Smith)