By Alva Solomon

A MASSIVE fire, said to be electrical in origin, gutted the Gafoor’s business Complex at Houston, Greater Georgetown yesterday afternoon just as staffers were preparing to sign off work for the day, leaving in its wake billions of dollars in losses and hundreds of persons jobless.Recorded as one of the largest and most costly fires in recent years, the conflagration reduced to rubble several bonds and electrical and other departments, including an administrative block of the hardware giant.

Thick black smoke swirled in the air as the fire ripped through the bonds, seven of which it devoured as it did the offices and hardware departments at the front of the complex. A section of the complex which was under construction was at one point threatened by the flames before the fire was contained some three hours later.

When the Guyana Chronicle arrived on scene, shortly after 16:00hrs yesterday, staff members were seen scurrying from the building as police and members of a private security firm manned the scene.

Firemen busied themselves connecting hoses to nearby canals as hundreds converged at the entrance of the complex, where barricades were erected by the police.

A helicopter belonging to the Guyana Defence Force (GDF) hovered overhead as traffic along the busy East Bank Demerara thoroughfare slowed to a crawl.

THICK SMOKE
Fire Chief Marlon Gentle told the media last evening that the Guyana Fire Service received a call at about 15:50hrs yesterday, detailing that thick smokewas emanating from the roof of the complex. Fire units were dispatched from the Central Fire Station at Stabroek and the West Ruimveldt outpost, but when the units arrived at Houston, the firemen reported that the fire was beginning to spread rapidly.

“We went up to second and third alarm and ramped all of the available resources in Georgetown that are here right now,” Gentle said.
He told the media that the firemen were in control of the fire, at around 19:00hrs last evening, but the heat was intense. “It’s a bond with various types of combustibles,” he said by way of explaining the tremendous heat the fire was generating.

Gentle noted that there were some safety concerns at the scene of the fire, one of which was the layout of the building while the other was the items stored therein, both of which were preventing the firemen from reacting to the situation as readily as they would have liked.

He said the firemen were working to prevent the fire from reaching the wharf aback the complex and close to the Demerara River.

A LONG HAUL
Summing up the situation, Gentle said, “This is going to be a long haul.” He was quick to note that there was enough fire equipment on the ground to handle the fire.

Sattaur Gafoor, Executive Chairman of Gafsons Industries, the parent company of the business, told the media at the scene that he was in his office at the complex when he was informed about the fire.

He said he had thought it was a small fire, but when he saw smoke in his office, he was forced to take evasive action. Noting that the bonds were fully stocked, Gafoor, whom staff fondly refer to as ‘Skipper’, said firemen would have a hard time containing the blaze, since most of the items were combustible.
BILLIONS IN LOSSES
A composed Gafoor, who looked on as his business was reduced to ashes, counted his losses as being in the billions. He said that while the building is insured, he was more concerned about the loss of business and the welfare of the 500-plus staff who worked at the complex.

“To get things going back again,” he said, “will take more than a year to rebuild.”

Replenishing the stock, he said, will also be difficult, added to which is the fact that all the company’s records were destroyed by the blaze. “We have to reassess our losses,” he said.

As the fire raged, firemen tried desperately to contain the blaze from escaping the bonds. But this would, however, prove difficult, as the fire eventually spread to the office building and another section of the complex which housed the electrical, paint, and office supplies.

At about 17:00hrs, that section of the complex was engulfed in smoke, and the firemen were soon faced with another daunting task: The hoses connecting many of the fire tenders to a nearby canal were leaking badly, while there were instances when some hoses bust under the weight of passing vehicles. In addition, the security service and the police were called to the remaining bonds aback the complex, closer to the Demerara River, as reports of looting surfaced.

The police hurried to the scene, and as night stepped in, several barricades were erected aback the complex to prevent bystanders from entering the site.
At about 19:00hrs, the fire was eventually contained to where it started initially.

Along the public road, dozens of employees either stood or sat along the pavement as they offered words of comfort to each other. Many stared blankly as the fire was brought under control.
HISTORY
The Gafsons Industries has been in the hardware business for some 66 years. The company also operates business complexes at Land of Canaan, further up the East Bank Demerara; at Parika on the East Bank Essequibo; and at Rose Hall on the Corentyne.

From a small business going back to 1957, Sattaur Gafoor built the company to become one of Guyana’s leading distributors and manufacturing entities.

In January 2002, all operations of the company were centralised at the Houston Complex; and as a result of yesterday’s fire, restarting the business would be a monumental task.

Meanwhile, at the company’s request, all employees of the Houston Complex have been asked to assemble at the corrugated bond at Houston this morning.