Firemen battle supermarket blaze

ONCE again, firemen who were faced with no water in fire hydrants in the capital, were forced to run their hoses to an underground spring under the National Library to battle a raging fire at Sing Chong Supermarket on Charlotte Street, Port-of-Spain yesterday.

The fire which started at about 12.30 pm on the upper floor, swiftly spread to the entire building. Supermarket employees were quickly evacuated along with employees from the nearby Pennywise store.

Clara Hillaire said she was the one who alerted employees of the supermarket about the fire.

A helicopter from the Special Anti-Crime Unit of Trinidad and Tobago (SAUTT) was quickly on the scene and officers surveyed the situation from the air.

On the ground, firemen stared helplessly as a fire hydrant located near the supermarket contained no water. Water tenders were summoned to the scene, but they were not enough to prevent flames from spreading.

In desperation, firemen contacted senior officers who instructed that hoses be connected to the underground spring at the National Library to fight the fire.

Several streets in Port-of-Spain were cordoned off to facilitate this move.

Fire fighters were finally able to prevent the fire from spreading to the Pennywise Cosmetics store.

Damage to stock and building was estimated at $5.5 million and 80 employees were left jobless as a result of the fire.

Port-of-Spain Mayor Mur-chison Brown arrived on the scene and offered words of comfort to members of the Low family who own the supermarket.

Proprietor Anthony Low is out of the country but his relatives said yesterday they will be making every effort to reopen for business shortly. The upper storey was burnt while the actual supermarket area suffered water damage.

Trinidad and Tobago Insurance Limited (TATIL) Claims Manager Ricardo St Cyr who was at the scene of the fire explained that the area burnt was used to store dry goods and machinery.

Up to late yesterday the cause of the blaze was not yet ascertained. Police, firemen and officials from TTEC are expected to revisit the scene today to continue their investigations.

In the past, firemen have struggled to contain several recent fires in the capital because of a lack of water in hydrants. A recent fire in the capital was contained by firemen with the help of water trucks from State utility WASA.