Fire breaks out at wake

A SOUTH FAMILY suffered a double tragedy when two of their multi-million dollar business places in San Fernando, were destroyed by fire on Friday night as they held a wake for the owner of one of them, 85-year-old business woman Myah Maharaj-Ramnarine, who died on Thursday. The other building was owned by Maharaj-Ramnarine’s son, Dr Ravi Maharaj.

The multi-million dollar fire, which also partially damaged a TSTT building and scorched stores in nearby Montano Plaza, broke out around 9.10 pm on St James Street, a stone’s throw from Maharaj-Ramnarine’s home on Chacon Street. Maharaj-Ramnarine was cremated yesterday morning on the Mosquito Creek even as firemen were dousing the building and searching among the rubble for clues to determine the cause of the blaze. Firemen said they expected the damage to run into millions of dollars.

Dr Maharaj and relatives were at the house of mourning Friday night when they saw billowing smoke and flames. Several relatives left the home and rushed to the scene. By that time, firemen from the nearby Mon Repos Fire Headquarters and King’s Wharf’s substation were on the scene extinguishing the fire, however, they were unable to save the two buildings but prevented the fire from spreading to adjacent business places. Dr Maharaj and other relatives were too distraught to speak about the double tragedy as they attended the funeral service and cremation. San Fernando Mayor Ian Atherly expressed condolences to the family on Maharaj-Ramnarine’s death and the fire at their business places.

The fire affected telephone service to approximately 1,000 TSTT customers in San Fernando. In a release yeasterday, TSTT Corporate Communications Manager Rae Ann Harper-Walters, said the company’s technicians had started repair work. She was unable to say when full service would be restored but assured that efforts were being made to “restore services in the shortest possible time.” Customers on lower High Street, Chacon Street, Mt Moriah Road, San Fernando Street, Quenca Street, St James Street, Kings Wharf and environs were unable to make or receive telephone calls or access Internet services.