A CLIFTON Settlement, Corentyne businessman is now counting his losses in excess of $70M after a fire destroyed his entire store and living quarters.

Krishna Persaud, 50, Proprietor of K. Persaud General Store and Auto Sales said he was not at home when the fire started.

Reports are that the fire began around 01:00hrs on Friday and quickly spread to the entire building.

The fire is suspected to have had its origin in a car explosion some 34 hours before.

Reports are that on Wednesday at approximately 14:00hrs, mechanics were working on a Nissan Bluebird which was on a ramp under the shop’s shed when it exploded.

The explosion resulted in a section of the ceiling catching afire, but the Guyana Fire Service was called in and promptly put it out. Or so they thought, as persons suspect that the fire may have still been smouldering underneath and gradually spread and engulfed the two-storey concrete building.

Persaud told the Guyana Chronicle that he received a call at around 01:30hrs saying that the place was on fire, but by the time he got there, firemen were already battling the blaze.

However, neighbours were able to remove about five vehicles from the yard and safely put away a few others. He said that luckily, he had removed a few items from the shop a few days ago to facilitate some ongoing work in the store, so they were saved.

“Carpenters have been doing some work in the store, so we had to take them outside,” Persaud said, adding:
“Other than those couple stuff, every other thing was destroyed; from top to bottom.”

Asked what his plans were, Persaud stared pensively at the debris and said he and the family will stay for now at another house he has a short distance away until he figures out what to do next.

An investigation has been launched.