Mayor angry with response to blaze

"I do not think that we should have this problem recurring every time we have a fire."

Brown said 62 new hydrants had been installed around the city, "particularly in areas we know are sensitive to things like this." He said when the new hydrants were installed, he thought that whatever problems there were in the past would have been solved. "It seems as though that is not the case and I am very disappointed over this," Brown stated.

He called for urgent action to be taken to ensure that tragedies, such as yesterday’s fire, do not re-occur.

"Something needs to be done at the level of the Fire Services with respect to efficiency in fighting fires as quickly as possible," he stated.

Brown also expressed his sympathy to the owners and employees of the two businesses and the bank which were gutted. "It is very heart-wrenching, especially now in the midst of Carnival," he said.

He estimated losses to be substantial.

Brown said he was at South Quay at about 6 pm when he saw the smoke from the fire.

Meanwhile, Wayne Joseph, General Manager Operations at WASA, Kew Place, said the hoses were connected to four fire hydrants. He said that out of the 200 hydrants in the city, only 20 were in operation.

This is the second major fire to hit the city in ten months. In April last year, the Peoples Mall, just a short distance away from yesterday’s fire, was completely destroyed by fire. Vendors are still displaced and the mall has yet to be rebuilt.