Arson caused Saturday night’s fire at the Jainarine Singh Building on Croal Street according to Fire Chief Marlon Gentle who yesterday said that fire investigators found a burnt gasoline bottle which still had some gasoline inside and a broken glass bottle that is believed to have been used to start the fire.
“We are working with the theory that attempts were made to destroy the building or at least part of the building,” Gentle told Stabroek News yesterday when asked if arson played a part in the fire,
He related that officers received a call at around 10:35 on Saturday night and a unit responded immediately and upon arrival they observed the fire blazing from a stationery office located on the bottom flat of the three-story building. According to Gentle the lock to that office was found to have been tampered with and a strong smell of gasoline was evident when firemen approached the area. It was upon entering the building that they saw the gasoline bottle and the broken glass bottle. He said it is believed that the bottle was used as a lamp to initially start the fire.
Meanwhile, Stabroek News was told that men were seen running away from the scene moments before smoke was observed and one jumped into a vehicle that had suspiciously circled the area and was parked about a stone’s throw away.
The fire started in the bottom flat of the three-story building which houses several lawyers’ offices and other legal affairs business places.
Persons who were attending the ‘People’s Parliament’ on Republic Avenue have since reported to a plain clothes police officer who was on the scene about the suspicious activities just before the fire.
According to reports those in attendance at the ‘People’s Parliament’ observed a grey-coloured car circling the area. Minutes later, according to one person, the car parked “suspiciously” on the northern side of Brickdam just south of the Magistrates’ Court building.
Those at the ‘People’s Parliament’ were engaged in a discussion and while some were backing the car others were facing and it is one of those facing who saw the car drive off but come back soon after and park in the same position. Minutes later a man, who was only partially dressed and who was thought to be a ‘junkie’, was seen running along the street and then entering the said car. Immediately after, three other men were seen running up the road along Republic Avenue and while two of them turned into Brickdam the other one turned into Hadfield Street. It was around this time that smoke was observed and those at the `People’s Parliament’ went around to investigate and observed the fire.
“So we invited an investigator, who was dressed in plain clothes, and a report was made and he took some notes and then they left,” this newspaper was told by one of the persons.
On Saturday night when Stabroek News visited the scene, thick smoke gushed from inside. The fire started in the Sunita Document Centre and severely damaged it and adjoining offices. The exterior of the building near the two rooms was also extensively scorched.
A distraught Sunita Houssain had told Statroek News at the scene that she was there earlier in the day and left around 1 pm. She was adamant that nothing was left on, adding that she had no cause to turn on any electrical item during her visit.
Contacted yesterday Houssain said she was still unable to assess her losses since she has not been granted permission to enter the building by the police officers manning the area who told her that “it was a crime scene.” However, she said from what she has seen from outside she would have suffered tremendous losses, stating that she has a computer, photocopying machine-which she only bought in May for $250,000-among other items and it was only last week she purchased stock for the centre. She also operates a snackette in the adjoining building and on Friday she would have packed her freezer with $63,000 worth of items.
“I suffer great loss,” the woman lamented.
She has been working in the building since 1990 with Jainarine Singh (Snr) but it was in 2005 she opened her own business.
The building is located behind the Georgetown Magistrate’s Court which has been undergoing rehabilitation works since last year. The courts housed there have since been relocated to a building on Middle Street.
Stabroek News was told that the building was bought sometime last year by businessman Omprakash `Buddy’ Shivraj and several occupants were given notice to move. Based on what this newspaper has gathered the deadline for removal was the end of September 2011, but it came and went and the occupants remained. Efforts to contact Shivraj yesterday were unsuccessful.
