A fire of unknown origin last night destroyed a Lusignan, East Coast Demerara (ECD) building and quick action by the Guyana Fire Service (GFS) prevented the blaze from engulfing nearby structures.
Reports are that the fire started around 8.05 pm and quickly ripped through a two-storey building situated at Lot 171 Lusignan West, ECD. The building housed a dwelling space, the office of a marriage officer and a welding workshop. No one was present at the time.
A neighbouring building which housed the Long Chang aluminum hardware store sustained minor damage. The two buildings are situated between BM Soat Auto Sales and Caricom Auto Sales.
Divisional Fire Officer Haimchandra Persaud told reporters that three fire tenders were dispatched to the scene.
Upon arrival, Persaud said firefighters immediately went into action. “They would have exhausted water from their tank supply and resorted to open water source,” he said.
With the combined efforts, he said they were able to contain the fire to the building of origin and prevent it from spreading.
According to Persaud, initial reports revealed that an eyewitness heard an explosion shortly after a power outage in the area.
“There was a blackout and when power came on, they heard the explosion but before the explosion they saw some form of fire on the wire leading to the building,” he explained.
Persaud noted that investigators have so far obtained “some leads” and an investigation has been launched to determine the cause of the fire. “At this point in time, we are still working on the investigation aspect to ascertain the cause of the fire. We are having some leads,” he said.
Speaking to this newspaper from his roadside stall, eyewitness Owen Munilall said he was attending to customers when he heard an explosion.
“I hear an explosion and then I see smoke….I realize something wrong there. So when I go there, I see like the middle bedroom upstairs was in fire,” Munilall told Stabroek News.
He said he immediately raised an alarm and the GFS was summoned.
The building that was destroyed in owned by an elderly couple.
Their son, Rizwan Mohamed said he was at home when he learnt of the fire. “I does normally work here. We lock up and I leave…..By time I come here and we open the door, the place was already on fire,” Mohamed explained.
Mohamed said several vehicles were parked in the garage and he managed to save them with assistance from public-spirited citizens. “We had some vehicles in there, we drive them out. Them boys bring out some tools and that was it,” he said.
Also at the scene last night was Minister of Home Affairs, Robeson Benn who lauded the GFS for their efforts in quickly containing the fire.
“They (GFS) were able to respond and I am happy with the water and the assets they had and with the availably of water in drains and trenches nearby they got it under control and have contained it to one building which is practically a total loss for all intents and purposes,” Benn told reporters.
He stressed the importance of fire safety.
“We talked about riser mains and wet and dry riser systems, fire extinguishers …but the first line of defence otherwise is smoke alarms and fire alarms,” Benn said.
“The fire service cannot, depend on what the combustibles are, cannot necessarily arrive at a scene in time to avoid major damage and people have to take care in respect of fire safety and their practices,” he added.
