The ND&S Furniture Store and its factory were today gutted by a fire of unknown origin that raged for hours as firefighters were severely hampered by lack of water.
Sixty persons were employed at the La Jalousie, West Coast Demerara establishment and losses are suspected to be in the tens of millions. “Everything my parents have worked for is destroyed,” said an emotional Sasha Mahadeo. The business was one of the better-known furniture establishments on the West Coast and was owned by Parsram Mahadeo, and his wife, Zabioon.
The fire started around 11 o’clock last night and was first noticed by neighbours, who alerted the security guard. The Mahadeos lived in the top flat of the three-storey building, which also housed the store and a showroom. They managed to escape. “When we came out, I could barely see,” Sasha said.
While she could not say what could have caused the fire, she said one of their suspicions is arson given the rigorous checks made daily to ensure that electrical fittings were safe. She noted that the building housed flammable materials such as wood and chemicals used in the business and the checks were a top priority.
Emotional relatives severely criticized the response of the fire service. “If there was anything that could have been done about it, very little was done,” Sasha, a University of Guyana student, said. She also lost all her study materials and assignments. Two fire trucks responded to the report, long after being alerted, with very little water, relatives said. They attempted to source water from a canal, but it was at a very low level, owing to the current dry weather. Eventually, water was sourced from the nearby Atlantic Ocean.
After 5 am today, the ruins of the buildings still smoldered in the cloudless, hot morning. “I am devastated, this is the house I grew up in,” Sasha said. The business, which consists of three buildings, was established over a decade ago.
On December 31 last year, a fire, of unknown origin broke out in the store but was quelled with no major damage. “We just want the investigation to yield some answers,” Sasha said. (Gaulbert Sutherland)