The police are working on the images captured by Close Circuit Television (CCTV) cameras to help identify the arsonists who set fire to the Jainarine Singh Building on Croal Street late Saturday night, Crime Chief Seelall Persaud has said.
Contacted for an update, Persaud said that no arrests have been made but he stressed that investigators were working on the footage. The cameras are located near traffic lights in the vicinity of the building.
Meanwhile attorney at law Frank Fraser who was rescued from the burning building said that the ordeal was terrifying and he is finalizing arrangements to remove his office from that location.
Recounting the events of Saturday night, Fraser, 74, an attorney for 22 years, said he visited his chamber around 6 pm to finish up some legal work which included opinion pieces. He said that some time later he heard “boom” after which the three-storey building started to shake.
He said he didn’t take much notice of that since he was concentrating on his work. However, moments later he smelled smoke and decided to venture out of his office located on the second floor to investigate.
According to Fraser, when he peeped from the veranda located in front of his office door all he saw was smoke and fire coming from the front section of the bottom floor. He told Stabroek News that usually when he visits the building late at nights he would lock a door at the bottom of a stairway leading to the second floor to secure himself.
He said he attempted to open the lock with his keys but the smoke became too much and as such he fled to the third floor where he started to shout for help.
Fraser recalled that by then a crowd had gathered in the yard below and he indicated to persons that he had the keys. He was advised to throw them down which he did.
He said two men managed to get the door open and helped him out of the burning building to safety. Shortly after his exit, he said, the police invited him to the Brickdam Police Station where he was asked if he saw anyone suspicious around the building. He said that the ranks later asked him to submit a statement.
He stressed that he was not arrested by police in relation to the fire at the building.
Asked what was going through his mind while he was hollering for help, Fraser said that he was scared and that at one point he was contemplating jumping but knew it would not be wise as he would certainly die.
He said he sometimes returned to his office to work late. He denied that he was living at the location. He said there were one or two times when he stayed there, since in the past he was robbed twice while leaving at late hours.
Fraser noted that in the light of this incident his late nights have come to an end.
Vacant possession
Fraser told Stabroek News that there was “a general talk” that the owner signed a contract with businessman Omprakash `Buddy’ Shivraj for vacant possession of the building. He explained that this means that the building has to be empty before the deal can be completed.
He said he was given a notice to remove last July and was given up to September month end of that year to remove. Fraser said he remained in the property on the basis that “we were going to oppose it on the ground that we were entitled to alternative accommodation. The landlord had to find another place for us before we remove”.
When contacted earlier Jainarine Singh said he had sold the building to Shivraj but the paperwork was not yet completed. He said he was very concerned over the incident and had known most of the tenants for years.
He was also “worried” at the revelations of Fire Chief Marlon Gentle that the fire was arson. The building, he added has been in his family since 1976 until last year when he sold it.
Singh noted that it was he who through his lawyers had given the tenants notice to remove.
Stabroek News was unable to make contact with Shivraj at his Happy Acres office.
Gentle had said on Sunday that officers received a call at around 10.35 pm on Saturday and the responding unit found the fire blazing from a stationery office, located on the bottom flat of the 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 a gasoline bottle and a broken glass bottle. He said it is believed that the bottle was used as a lamp to start the fire.
Those in attendance at the nearby ‘People’s Parliament’ have since reported to the police that men were seen running away from the scene moments before smoke was observed and one of the men jumped into a vehicle that had circled the area before parking near the building.
The fire was apparently set in an occupied room next to Sunita Document Centre. That room was completely destroyed while there was extensive damage to the document centre. Businesswoman Sunita Houssain despite her losses said she is prepared to start over.
