Another $$M fire hits city

The raging fire brought back memories of a similar tragedy which occurred in April last year, just a few metres away where millions of dollars in damages were also recorded.

Fire Services officials told Newsday yesterday that they received a report at about 5.10 pm and immediately swung into action, blocking off the streets and using tenders from the Port-of-Spain, Belmont and San Juan stations .

Angry eyewitnesses however told Newsday that despite their calls to the Fire Services, even before there was an actual outbreak of fire, there was no response.

"Just minutes after Naughty Girls Store closed their doors, I heard two loud explosions and then saw fire coming from the downstairs of the store. Within minutes the entire ground floor was engulfed in fire," a cleaner at Woodford Square said.

"I contacted the Fire Services and after some pleading and explaining, they came. It was as if they did not believe me," he said.

Another eyewitness also said "at around 4.40 pm I was sitting on a roof of an apartment building with a friend on George Street when I saw smoke coming from the back of the building. I ran to the nearby Lucky Jordan Club, called the Fire Service, and then the police post at the corner of Nelson Street, where I lodged a report. They did not take me on either."

Elias Moses and Talleh Elias, owners of the two destroyed stores, also condemned the Fire Services, accusing them of being responsible for the losses.

"It could have been contained if the fire officers had concentrated on the buildings and had water, but instead they were running around like headless chickens," an angry Moses cried.

"First of all when they arrived there was no water in the hydrants. Then when they got water instead of concentrating on the main building, Naughty Girls, and wetting the other building, they were just wetting all over the place. It was only when fire broke out in the adjoining buildings that they started concentrating on the centre buildings."

Several angry eyewitnesses supported Moses statements and accused the Fire Services of being inefficient.

Both men said they lost millions of dollars in stocks just bought for Carnival.

Owner of Naughty Girls, Talleh Elias, said "I closed the store about 5 pm and was down the road when I got a call that smoke was seen coming from the building. When I arrived 15 minutes later, the building was on fire."

Investigations revealed that on reaching the scene, fire officers were hampered by the lack of water in the saltwater mains and were forced to seek WASA’s assistance to boost the freshwater mains, using four of the 20 mains available in the city.

Several businessmen who had businesses nearby also expressed concern about the fire and the Fire Services and the Government agencies inability to deal with it.

"Last year there was a massive fire which caused lower Frederick Street to be closed for two months.

"People were not allowed to enter the street and millions of dollars in sales were lost. Are we going to experience a similar event?" asked the concerned businessman.

Fire officials will continue their investigations today to determine the cause of the fire.