-millions of dollars in goods destroyed

HUNDREDS of vendors were on Friday afternoon displaced after a fire destroyed a large section of the Parika Market.

According to the Guyana Fire Service (GFS), at 15:14hrs it received a report about the fire and five water tenders, one water bowser, and two support vehicles from the Leonora, La Grange, Eccles, Campbellville, Central, and West Ruimveldt fire stations were immediately dispatched to the scene.

Some vendors and persons in the area have since said the Fire Service took more than one hour to respond.

Many of the vendors were seen running from the fiery blaze and shielding themselves from the thick black smoke. They had no choice but to leave all their belongings behind.

According to Home Affairs Minister Robeson Benn, who was at the scene, it is suspected that the fire might have been ignited after sparks from welding works that were being done in a section of the market came into contact with flammable substances.

“We understand but will have to confirm later that there was welding going on in the building and that sparks fell down into flammable substance. That is what we understand so far as to why this has happened,” he said.

Minister Benn reassured the vendors that officials from the government will be meeting with them shortly.

“We intend to meet with those who claim they have losses and make listings for consideration, evaluation and assessments and then we will take it from there,” he said, while adding that the issue must be approached in a systematic way.

As firefighters battled the blaze, they were forced to use water from the nearby Essequibo River. During that time, vessels were unable to offload produce and passengers at the ferry stelling.

Head of the Region Three Private Sector Inc. (R3PSInc) Halim Khan who was also at the scene, said that this will be a hard economic hit for the region.

“Everyone knows that the market here has been existing for decades. We have goldsmiths, we have all other persons selling electronics and everything is completely destroyed; and so everyone who sells in the market here, they have to start back from scratch,” he said.

Meanwhile, in a statement last night, the Region Three Chamber of Commerce and Industry (R3CCI) said that it was saddened by the incident.

“The very unfortunate event will not only impact the purchase and sale of several products, but also has the potential for serious short-term financial impact on the vendors and the community,” the release said.

The organisation said it is “hopeful and confident” that the vendors will be able to get back up and running in short order. It also extended a helping hand to those affected before reiterating that fire safety reduces the risk of injury and building-damage that fires cause.

R3CCI urged its members and businesses, especially those in Region Three, to develop and implement fire-safety protocols at their places of business.