A fire yesterday ravaged two buildings in Springlands, Upper Corentyne ruining an upholstery business and a nearby hotel which housed a bar and mini restaurant.
The fire reportedly started at a two-storey wooden building where businessman Mahendra Persaud also known as ‘Mahen’, 54, operated ‘Mahen and Sons Upholstery’ and then quickly spread to the Ritz Hotel and Bar located at Lot 171 Springlands, which is operated by businesswoman Kamaldeo Ootra, 62,
According to information gathered, Persaud of Lot 13, Number 75 Village, Corentyne, was present sewing at the location when he saw smoke emanating from his storeroom. He and his neighbours immediately alerted the fire service and police.
According to Persaud, he has operated his business at the rented location for over fifteen years now. “Me go this morning and paint out one chair foot and one man bring one thing for me to stitch am and about 9 o clock time deh stitch am pon the machine and me see smoke when me watch up and me tell the man a who light rubbish heap that them people get one dead over deh mussy them.”
Persaud said that he decided to investigate where the smoke was coming from “and me get one room a side there and when me go open the door me see fire and was a lil fire so me go out am.”
He said, at that stage the fire began to quickly spread to sponge and other items which were nearby “and me tell the man come help me let me take out my machine them and put it outside.”
According to Persaud, his neighbours immediately phoned the fire service “but them fire reel take long to come and me try haul out the machine and wah me can get but nuff thing me couldn’t a manage because the fire take over the whole place.”
While Persaud was able to save two of his machines everything else including the two-storey wooden structure was completely destroyed by the fire. He said that he had a compressor along with upholstery materials at the location, “nuff, nuff material me get wah burn out, all me roll them burn out, me get nuff people chair wah me supposed to deliver”, the devastated man said.
Additionally, he said a number of his customers had made advance payments for their chair sets, “and me had the money in there and all burn out.”
He continued, “Me buy one plant from Nand Persaud and put am in deh because me seh at least when blackout deh me go still work and make me money but all burn out now.”
The businessman who has three employees broke into years yesterday, relaying that he was unsure how he would repay his customers, “Me a study how me go find back all thing, me get one man car top from Georgetown all burn out here… Wah me go tell them man? How them go get that back?”
He suspected that the fire might have been electrical in origin, noting “Me get three meter a light a place but me does get problem with GPL instead of 220 me does get 110, me na get full 220 and me seh me go go report it when me get chance and me na find chance to go so me na know if a current or wah.”
Meanwhile, Ootra, owner of the Ritz Hotel and Bar stated that she was having her morning coffee when she noticed that her neighbour’s premises was on fire. “When I pull the blind I want fa know where and when I see the smoke I run out I see the smoke by my neighbour.”
She added that since the building Persaud occupied was an old one the fire quickly spread throughout his and then over to hers catching first onto her roof. “It come on top of my building and catch the wing, the wood ceiling.”
Estimating her loss to be in the millions, Ootra yesterday lashed out at the Guyana Fire Service as she said that had they arrived at the scene in a timely manner they would have been able to save her building. “I know if they did meet here in time my building would a save, I know that”, the devastated woman declared yesterday.
Meanwhile, the Guyana Fire Service in a preliminary report said that when the firefighters arrived at the scene they discovered “one building destroyed and another fully engulfed (in) flames and smoke.”
An investigation is currently ongoing by the fire service and police.
