While the owners of the burnt out site of the last Regent Street fire contemplate site rehabilitation vendors took advantage of the busy business spot to ply their trade.
One former store owner threw up a tent and to sell various items, doing “brisk and bright business just before the new school year” began.
On July 31, this year fire gutted four stores in three buildings on the northern side of Regent Street between Camp and Alexander streets leaving millions of dollars in damage. The owner of one of the stores, Indra’s Fashion, 65-year-old Ramdat Shiwprasad, collapsed at the scene and was later pronounced dead at the hospital.
The top flat of the Lucky Dollar Furniture and Electronics store was also destroyed and items in the store were damaged by water when firefighters tried to save it. A section of the second floor had also caved in and was being monitored given that it is a potential hazard to persons entering the building. Items in the store were sold on ‘As is where is basis’ though public bidding. The nearby City Mall’s western side was scorched.
Fire Chief Marlon Gentle had said that the fire originated at the back of the building, which was occupied as living quarters by the Chinese who had leased a section of the duplex owned by Claire and Anthony Pires. He said that makeshift wiring caused the circuit to fail which sparked the fire.
When Stabroek News visited the location business was slow. One of the vendors informed that before school reopened business was booming but had petered down. She opined that this was because most persons were financially challenged having spent a lot on school items for their children. “Things ain’t really doing now. You might catch a sale here or there but nothing like before… You have to understand also that competition tight. Everybody get the same thing is just luck and chance sometimes but yuh gat to wuk to eat,” she said.
Other vendors did not want to comment but instead directed this newspaper to the owner of the property.
Owner of the property where the fire originated, Claire Pires told Stabroek News that the vending will only be short term as it was done to accommodate the vendors during the “shopping for school” period. She said that she had granted permission for the ‘tent store’ and was confident that it would not be a permanent arrangement.
Meanwhile, owner of Boyo’s Fashions had said that he had lost “millions, countless millions” and that his building was not insured. As such he was still too traumatized to speak on what his next move would be.
