By Subhana Shiwmangal
A fire of unknown origin yesterday afternoon damaged the interior of Trophy Stall at 241 South Road and Bourda Street, two blocks away from the Bourda Market.
The Guyana Fire Service (GFS) is yet to ascertain the cause of fire which it managed to successfully contain. A neighbour who was in a taxi on his way to work saw the fire at around 4:17 pm and alerted the owner who immediately summoned the Fire Service. The two-storey wooden and concrete building houses the business downstairs while the owners occupy upstairs.
A neighbour, Clair Chappell, told Stabroek News that around 4:17 pm her son was going to work in a taxi when he jumped out and start calling for the owner, Ramesh Sunich. She said when she saw her son jump out of the taxi, she immediately ran out of her yard to see what had happened and saw that one of the Guyana Power and Light lines was on fire.
Ramesh recounted, “…when I looked down, I saw smoke. At the same time my wife detected it and said it’s fire. I quickly ran to the main switch and pulled it into to neutral while I felt the heat underneath my foot.” He also threw some fire extinguisher balls where the smoke was to try to quell the fire.
“I know it’s a lot of money, and I will know the amount for repairs after the firefighters finished. The most important thing is that I’m alive right now. The damages don’t seem serious because it is just a corner inside, everything was destroyed in the corner.”
Meanwhile, Ramesh’s wife, Devi Sunich, who was near to tears, told Stabroek News that she can’t say exactly what happened because she was still in shock. She recalled lying in bed and then having to run out of the house when it became engulfed in smoke. She saw her husband in the hall and called out for him to get out of the house. She relayed that a section inside the business was damaged and some of its contents were destroyed, including trophies, plaques, a printer, a computer, and a banner.
“The whole inside was engulfed with fire. The whole inside look like it’s not good anymore, but I really can’t say what went on in the front room where we saw the smoke. The room looks like it’s okay, apart from everything else that was engulfed with smoke all over. The fire was so quick that everything just engulfed in smoke”, she recounted.
According to Ramesh about 10 persons are employed by the business and with their help, once the place is cleared up, work will resume as per normal as repairs take place.
According to a fire officer, Orin Bancroft, a section inside the building was damaged by the flames and some of its contents were destroyed. He added that firefighters are still trying to ascertain the cause of fire.
