Major city fire guts Charran’s Building and ten businesses

Traffic in downtown Port- of- Spain came to a grinding halt yesterday as several of the major streets were blocked off as the result of a massive fire.

The Charran’s Building located at No 58 South Quay, which housed several businesses,  was completely gutted despite the efforts by fire officers to extinguish the rapidly spreading flames. The lunchtime crowd gathered in the surrounding streets, with most people stopping in the middle of the crawling traffic looking above at the thick clouds of black smoke which emanated from the burning building. The sounds of sirens filled the air while officers from both the Regiment and Police service put up barricades to prevent curious onlookers from getting close to the blaze.

The fire, which began around 11.30 am, spread throughout the massive building in a matter of minutes. As the fire spread, store owners and employees were seen dashing in and out of the stores, in an effort to save any merchandise they could. Workmen atop the newly refurbished Cameo House next to the Charran’s building, were stranded for quite a while as they could not find their way through the thick smoke. They were eventually assisted by fire officers and brought down to safety. With three units on the scene, fire officers worked feverishly to extinguish the blaze. However their efforts were hampered as the water pressure  was said to be low, causing fire officers to call for back up supplies. While they worked with the reserves they had, the officers were not able to save any of the stores located in the building. Destroyed were Charran’s book store and furniture store, A’s Pet Shop, a Chinese fast food outlet, Inn Hing fast foods, The Universal Church and several others.

Visiting the scene was ACP Crime, Oswyn Allard, as well as Acting Mayor of Port-of-Spain, Rishi Lackhan. Lackhan, who is acting for Mayor Murchison Brown who is out of the country, told Newsday that the Port-of-Spain City Corporation is concerned about the number of people who are now unemployed as a result of the fire. “This is a major loss for the city and all who were employed in the various business places located in that building. Two weeks shy of Christmas and this thing happens. One can only imagine the frustrations of the owners and employees of businesses located in this building.” Two water trucks were brought in to assist the fire officers in extinguishing the blaze almost an hour later, following which there was a massive down pour of rain. Onlookers braved the inclement weather, all expecting the huge wall at the side of the gutted structure to crumble, however, up to press time, this did not take place.

Speaking to Newsday after the flames were somewhat extinguished was Assistant Divisional Fire Officer Bethelmy, who told Newsday they were not sure about the orign of the fire. Officer Bethelmy said “Investigations are continuing. We have no information at this time as to what may have caused the fire. Over ten businesses were destroyed, but there were no injuries or fatalities. “While this is uncertain, the estimated cost of the blaze is over two million dollars.” Asked whether they were able to contact the owners of the building, Officer Bethelmy said they understand the building is owned by Charrans, but  they were still in the process of trying to contact them. However when Newsday contacted the manager of the Charran’s Chaguanas branch for comment, the manager said that it was a sad day for the family, especially for the mother who purchased the Port-of-Spain store for the eldest son. The manager refused to comment further saying the family was having a difficult time coping with the incident.