Car dealership, 35 cars destroyed

PLUMES of thick, noxious smoke billowed in the sky overlooking McBean Village in Couva yesterday afternoon as fire swept through and destroyed a building that housed a foreign used car dealership, as well as several foreign used vehicles parked on the compound.  Damage from the blaze was estimated at over $4M. The fire destroyed R and R Trading Company, a foreign used car dealership located along Southern Main Road.

Some 35 foreign used cars comprising mainly Honda Civics and Nissan B16 Sentras, that were parked on the compound, were also destroyed as the fire blazed through the premises for over three hours yesterday. A distraught Lincoln Debideen, owner of the car dealership told Newsday, “I really don’t know what to say about this. I lost everything in the fire.” Debideen, of Calcutta No 1, Mc Bean, Couva, confirmed police reports that a bush fire in a canefield at the back of his businessplace spread onto his compound and set the cars alight.  Police said about 2.30 pm, a bush fire, fuelled by strong winds spread rapidly across the canefield and onto the car dealership.

Fire tenders from Couva and Chaguanas Fire Stations arrived shortly, but firemen were too late to save the businessplace and cars. Traffic along the road had to be cut off as motorists were directed to use the private road at Campden. Residents who saw the fire, broke through some fence and managed to save some of the cars on the compound. But according to Debideen, “the damage was too deep as far as the company is concerned.” Couva police under ASP Terry Archibald and including Cpl Gangadeen and PC Hosein are continuing investigations.