A mid-morning fire suspected to be electrical in origin, yesterday destroyed the top floor of the G3 business complex at Diamond Housing Scheme, East Bank Demerara.
The fire was first sighted at around 10.30 am, when, according to reports, it was seen emanating from the ceiling of the top floor of the building, which houses several businesses, including a pharmacy, a restaurant and a bar. Workers told this newspaper that after they were informed of the fire, they quickly escaped.
When Stabroek News arrived on the scene, firefighters had already contained the blaze and were observed putting out the flames.
Several persons on the scene expressed dissatisfaction at the performance of the fire service, since they believed if they had responded faster, they would have been able to save a larger part of the top floor.
Deonarine Etwaroo, the proprietor of a pharmacy located on the ground floor, said after the fire service arrived, they took too long to work out their action plan and as a result, the fire gutted the floor. Etwaroo stated that while his business was not directly affected, he suspects he suffered water damage.
Gregory Wickham, Divisional Officer with responsibility for operations, said that the firefighting operations were supported by firefighters from the West Ruimveldt Fire Station and Central Georgetown.
Wickham said after they were informed of the fire, two vehicles were dispatched to the scene, and after an assessment, a third vehicle responded.
“By the use of those three vehicles we were able to contain the fire to the top floor of the building. As it is, only the top floor of the structure has been destroyed by the fire and remaining floors are safe,” the divisional officer said.
Wickham said, “The fire service is and has been, and will be a professional body and we know the signs of fighting a fire and we would have professionally done our job. Other people would have their comments but we would have done our job,” he stated, when asked to respond to the criticism.
He added that they were able to source water from a canal that is located adjacent to the building.
Wickham acknowledged that they did experience some issues with water supply and that caused some delays in their operations. However, he explained that they had to ask the Neighbourhood Democratic Council (NDC) to close the koker, as water was draining into the river.
“We went to the NDC and ask them to close the koker, so we had [a] copious amount water to fight the fire. Yes, It took some time for us to get this done but it was being done simultaneously as we used water from the trucks to fight the fire,” Wickham added.
Romelton Siland, a trainer at the Extreme Fitness Gym, which was housed on the floor that was destroyed, said that he was not present at the gym at the time of the fire, however, he rushed to the scene after receiving a phone call about the incident. He explained that when he arrived, the entire top flat of the building had been destroyed and firefighters were extinguishing the flames.
“I don’t know how the fire started but I was told it started in the ceiling. I suspect it can be electrical but I cannot say for sure,” Siland commented. He noted that he is unable to put a figure to the losses but declared they are in the millions.
This newspaper gathered that the owner of the building is currently overseas.
Traffic Congestion
The fire also resulted in a heavy traffic buildup along the public road, from Demerara Distillers Limited to the entrance of the Diamond Housing Scheme. Traffic moved at snail’s pace despite traffic officers being present and directing the traffic. Some persons were forced to exit the vehicle they were travelling in to walk to their destination. There was also traffic congestion along the main access road in the housing scheme.
