By Aviso Paul, Subhana Shiwmangal and Shabna Rahman
A massive fire yesterday afternoon gutted the entire Parika Marketing Complex located on the East Bank of Essequibo (EBE) along with other stalls which were on the road side, leaving dozens of vendors counting their losses.
The fire was thought to have been triggered by sparks which emanated from welding which was being done on the roof of the market complex. The sparks came into contact with a stall that was reportedly selling squibs, flares and other explosives.
In a release yesterday, the Guyana Fire Service said that they were alerted to the fire at about 3:14pm and immediately dispatched five water tenders, one water bowser, and two support vehicles from the Leonora, La Grange, Eccles, Campbellville, Central, and West Ruimveldt fire stations to the location with the first water tender arriving on the scene at 15:36 pm. They began their firefighting operation by first utilising tank supplies, after which they made use of the Essequibo River as an open water source.