City Motors destroyed by fire

FIRE Prevention officers have initiated special investigations into the circumstances surrounding two separate fires at the City Motors warehouse on Piccadilly Street, Port-of-Spain between Tuesday night and early yesterday morning, in which the entire building was destroyed.

This was confirmed yesterday by Assistant Chief Fire Officer (ACFO) Leslie Skeete. ACFO Skeete told Newsday the fact that a second blaze occurred after firemen doused the first fire and left was the main area of the investigation into what he termed a possible “non-accidental” fire. “We do not use arson as a term ... that is for the police. What we are doing is investigating the circumstances surrounding these fires which so far are possibly non-accidental,” ACFO Skeete said. According to reports, firemen from Fire Headquarters, Wrightson Road and Belmont Fire Stations were called out to the fire around 7.24 pm on Tuesday.

The officers found a small blaze at the north-western end of the warehouse situated behind the NIPDEC car park where displaced persons stay. They quickly extinguished the blaze while officials of City Motors, agents for Peugeot vehicles, including General Manager Philip Knaggs, quickly moved out 12 cars which were parked in the warehouse at the time. Damage to the building from the first fire was put at $10,000. “I must congratulate the fire services for the quick job in extinguishing the first blaze,” Knaggs said. He said the firemen left around 11 pm along with Peugeot officials. At 2.09 am yesterday, firemen were called out again after getting a report that an even bigger fire had broken out at the warehouse. This time, the entire warehouse was engulfed in flames. Apart from the actual building, three cars were destroyed. The warehouse was valued for $800,000.

Knaggs told Newsday he believed a brush fire in the yard of an adjoining building may have been responsible for the first fire. He did not venture a theory on the second blaze. Police sources said they were following up reports that vagrants who stay at the nearby NIPDEC car park complex were seen lurking at the back of the warehouse. ACFO Skeete and Divisional Fire Officer Etson Glasgow visited the scene and co-ordinated the fire-fighting operations. Up to yesterday investigations were continuing.