FIRE of yet unknown origin ripped through three stores in a building at Regent and King streets, Georgetown, early yesterday morning, destroying haberdashery and other articles valued at millions of dollars.Owner of Ashok’s Dry Goods Store, Hemant Keswani, an Indian national, told this publication that he was at home when he received a telephone call informing him that his store was ablaze at about 01:00 hrs yesterday.

He said when he arrived on the scene there was nothing he could do but watch as his business place went up in flames, leaving several store workers jobless.

Keswani stated that he migrated to Guyana many years ago and invested in the store that sold clothing and other articles. His losses would run into millions, he said, and he was unsure how he would cope.

The businessman said he closed and secured his store at 16:30 hrs on Wednesday and was sure that all electrical points had been switched off before he left for home and so he could not say what caused the blaze.

Meanwhile, the owners of the two other stores which include Subrina’s Store, which also sold clothing, and a smaller store next door were not around yesterday morning, but employees who showed up for work were dumbstruck.

Some of them were unaware that a fire had consumed their workplace early yesterday morning and were in obvious shock.

Chief Fire Officer Marlon Gentle told the Chronicle that the stores were housed on the ground floor of the aged wooden building and the upper flat was the storage bond. The fire was in several parts of the building when firefighters forcibly entered the place.

He reported that the Guyana Fire Service (GFS) received the fire call at 12:42 hrs yesterday morning and four fire tenders and one high-rise tender responded with an adequate number of firemen.

Gentle stated that when they arrived, thick smoke was billowing from the building which was secured with shutters and padlocks and they had to force their way in.

After they had gained entry, he said, fire was observed at multiple parts of the building and they went into fire-fighting mode and contained and extinguished the blaze from spreading to nearby buildings.

Gentle said they have since launched an investigation into the early morning fire and the cause will soon be revealed.

The interior of the building was completely destroyed, and everything inside was burnt beyond recognition, but the outer walls were intact.

By Michel Outridge