$3M fire guts Pt Fortin Royal Castle

A $3 million fire destroyed the Point Fortin branch of the Royal Castle chicken outlet in the wee hours of yesterday morning. Firemen and police investigators have been clueless, up to yesterday, as to the cause of the fire which badly scorched three other adjoining businessplaces — a pharmacy, video arcade and Pizza Boys. Fire investigators said about 30 people have been left jobless. The fire occurred around 3:15 am, police said, at Royal Castle at Main Road, Point Fortin. According to a report, firemen were returning to the nearby fire sub-station from a fire in Cedros, when they received the call.

They responded within three minutes, police said, to see the inside of the Royal Castle outlet already engulfed in flames. Firemen worked feverishly to contain the blaze and to prevent the adjoining business places becoming caught. The intensity of the fire have led fire investigators to suspect that it started in the kitchen of the restaurant. The chicken outlet was closed for business at the time. The kitchen stored flammable items as well as gas cylinders, the report said, presumably why the fire spread rapidly and gutted the building within minutes.

Damage to stock and accessories was estimated at $1.5 million. The structure of the building was completely destroyed, estimated value of which was close to $1 million. The report stated that South Zone Pharmacy was badly scorched and suffered water-damage. Zalina’s video arcade, open to the public for business on Friday, suffered a similar fate. The report stated that Pizza Boys outlet also became water-logged during firemen attempt to prevent the fire from spreading. Divisional Fire Officers Alexis, Callender and Fire Prevention Officers Collymore and Davis, attended. Fire prevention officers will return this morning to search for clues among the rubble to determine what caused the fire.