-plans for mall opening set back
By Subhana Shiwmangal
The fire that completely destroyed a storage bond on Tuesday at Lot 70, Industrial Site, Eccles not only consumed millions of dollars’ worth of stock for its owners, but also for Chinese nationals who had rented a portion of the warehouse.
The warehouse was owned by the Kaieteur News publisher, Glenn Lall, and his wife, Bhena Lall, who operates Bhena’s Footwear located on Regent Street. A variety of items ranging from footwear to Kaieteur News equipment, was destroyed in the blaze. The Chinese tenants also lost a lot of stock including items for babies and Christmas decorations.
Speaking with Stabroek News yesterday, Glen Lall related that he received a call at about 4.30 pm from his wife informing him that the warehouse was on fire.
He immediately rushed over to investigate and saw the building engulfed in flames. He acknowledged the efforts of the Guyana Fire Service (GFS) to put the fire out and prevent it from spreading to neighbouring buildings. The transmission tower for his Kaieteur 99.1/99.5 FM station which is located in the compound of the bond was not affected by the blaze.
Glen Lall explained that the bond had boxes of shoes which caused the fire to spread. Apart from the shoes being destroyed, he had some new printing equipment for his newspaper. He noted that yesterday, excavators were used to collect the debris from the destroyed bond since there were still pockets of fire among the charred remains.
The publisher said his wife had purchased lots of stock for her new mall she was planning to open for Christmas. He was unable to put a figure to his losses. “I really can’t put a figure to my loss, this is part of life and I will tread on.”
When Stabroek News visited the burnt-out warehouse, two excavators were working to remove the debris to allow firefighters to completely extinguish the fire since there were still pockets of burning embers in the building. Meanwhile, a close friend of the Chinese national who rented a section of the warehouse for storage said that she too could not say how much had been lost in the fire, but is waiting for the GFS to do their investigation.
Bhena Lall told Stabroek News yesterday that on Monday while overseas she received information about the fire. She quickly contacted her husband to check it out and later was informed of the huge blaze. She said she immediately returned to Guyana to ascertain their losses.
She too echoed that the incident was sad, and disclosed that the warehouse was not insured. She mentioned that she had recently imported items and stocked the warehouse for Christmas, and the items that she had purchased to stock her SZZ mall are all gone. The mall which she said is located on Regent Street was scheduled to open on December 1st, but now she has nothing to open the mall with.
Cooling
“Cooling mattresses, cooling beds, cooling blankets…; there are all different; I had like 200 and something pieces. It’s a lot of things; really nice stuff for the new mall that is scheduled to be opened on December 1, and now, I don’t have anything to open the mall with. All makeup, cosmetics I had in there, body cleansers and those kinds of things; a whole floor in that category I had; a whole set of mix up things I had in there ready to go in the SZZ mall on Regent Street. We went to the Expo to showcase it. I study these things for two years to bring in these stuff… I suppose to open four floors for the holiday because the workers were working slow inside. It supposed to open November 1 because I feel I can complete everything; now it’s just a disaster.”
“Some shoes came in for Christmas and also, I already bring in shoes for next year because we manufacture shoes, but all gone as well,” she lamented.
The GFS in a release yesterday stated that a fire of “significant magnitude” completely destroyed a storage bond located at Eccles. It noted that they responded promptly to the incident, demonstrating their efficiency and commitment to emergency management.
The call was received at about 16.43 hours and firefighting teams arrived at the location by 16.56 hours. Upon arrival, it was observed that the one-story wooden and concrete structure, measuring approximately 31.7feet by 28.3 feet, was entirely consumed by the flames.
It said that the western side housed tenants, including individuals identified as Lin Oingjun, Jiang Jincup, Xiale Wei, Cajjian Sheng, Sun Haitag, Zhao Hansi, and Chen Limsian.
The firefighting operation involved the deployment of multiple appliances and the response team included 14 fire-fighters. The crew employed water and foam to extinguish the fire.
The cause of the fire is yet to be determined. The Guyana Fire Service commended the dedication of its personnel and the cooperation of the public during this incident and noted that this event serves as a reminder of the importance of fire safety measures, particularly in commercial and storage facilities.
