by Shirley Thomas
Guyana Chronicle
April 10, 2001

FIRE of unknown origin which reportedly started in the top flat of the popular A.H & L. Kissoon furniture store on Camp Street shortly before 17:00 hrs yesterday wreaked havoc in the capital city, amid continuing anti-government street protests.

The fire swiftly swept through the block between Camp and Wellington streets, gutting no less than a dozen business places along Robb and Regent streets.

Businesses completely destroyed include Anand's garment store; Sookraj and Sons Garment Store and Cambio; Madagabar Resort Office; Globe garment store; Kirpalani and Sons; Shamdas Kirpalani; Dhoray's Fashions; Alicia's Fashions; Daswaney's; Shoppers' Paradise and the headquarters of the Guyana Agricultural and General Workers Union (GAWU); the Guyana Rice Producers Association office and the Gimpex Building.

The Lotus restaurant next to Anand's store, though appearing intact from the front, was damaged behind.

Buildings destroyed on Robb Street, apart from the entire Kissoon's furniture complex, extensively rehabilitated and diversified recently, included a pharmacy next to Kissoon's; Archie's Electrical Store; Bossie's; the New Garden Chinese restaurant and Tau-Am Associates.

The fire broke out just as President Bharrat Jagdeo was naming his new Cabinet at the Presidential Secretariat.

Despite gallant efforts by fire fighters to save the GAWU building which had started burning from behind, the last of the upper floors crashed thunderously to the ground.

After about two hours, firemen were still battling to contain the inferno to the GAWU building with the hope of saving the building next door which houses the MTV station.

When news of the fire spread, many of the business places in that vicinity had already closed for the day and workers left for home. A few proprietors were about leaving their premises and all attention was turned to Kissoon's.

Fire tenders from the central and sub-stations with a full turn out of fire fighters were immediately despatched to the scene. The Georgetown Sewerage and Water Commissioners which was in the midst of a water rationing operation due to the prolonged dry weather was alerted, and immediately stepped up its water pressure.

In less than an hour, so heavy was the pressure that leaking fire hoses began spurting water all over, and firemen had trouble controlling the hoses. In some cases it took four firemen lying on the ground to control a hose.

With adequate pressure the firefighters fought valiantly to bring the raging flames under control, but fanned by fierce winds blowing in a westerly direction, Kissoon's building was in less that an hour reduced to rubble, and from then on there was no turning back.

Despite the best efforts of the firemen, the flames quickly spread south to Regent Street and west along Robb Street and initially the National Bank of Industry and Commerce and Bhena's footwear at the corner of Regent and Camp streets were seriously threatened. But for the gallant and selfless fight put up by firemen at all levels, and the sturdy brick walls in their architecture, those two buildings would have been gutted.

An annexe at the back of the bank's compound was already well alight from within and was quickly brought under control.

As word about the fire spread, businessmen who had already left their premises headed down to the scene, perhaps in the hope of being able to save goods, but that was virtually impossible. The intense heat and power lines dancing dangerously on the ground forced persons back, keeping them at bay.

Stupefied, the owners looked on helplessly. Mr Glen Lall, part owner of Bhena's footwear arrived at the scene of his wife's business breathless, but thanked heaven when he saw how closely his store missed being caught up in the inferno. Sighing, he commented, "All I'm seeing is a dim future for this country."

Proprietor of Sooksons, Mr. Ramnauth Sookraj, badly shaken, mustered up the courage to stand and face it all. His cambio, he said, had "millions of dollars in the safe" but nothing was saved.

Sookraj said that only a few days before he had stocked up his store. He set his losses at about $1200 million, adding that that figure would have been an underestimation.

And proprietor of Bossies Enterprise, Mr. Keithroy Bachelor, an Antiguan, also lost everything. Bachelor, who had been operating at his Robb Street boutique about four years now, said he's still thankful to God that no lives were lost.

Several truckloads of traffic, beat duty and riot squad police were deployed to the scene to help maintain law and order.

Intermittently gunshots were heard ringing through the air to ward off curious onlookers who would hamper the progress of fire fighting activities, or attempt to loot businesses.

As showcases cracked from the intense heat, operators of some business places such as discount stores were seen hurriedly nailing up zinc sheets to their businesses. Under the intense heat, decorative tiles began falling off the walls of the Guyana Bank for Trade and Industry more than 40 feet away, on the opposite side of Regent Street.

The businesses in that part of the commercial area were mostly old wooden buildings, recently renovated and freshly painted.

In addition, most of the merchandise were fabrics and clothing, footwear, leatherette and plastics and other poly and synthetic materials.

And many stores though initially far away from the blaze ended up losing everything, since they were either heavily grilled up, or had zinc sheets and steel plates nailed on to their show cases and doors. Nothing was saved from any of the buildings.

This posed a greater difficulty to firemen who tried to extinguish flames from within the burning buildings to reduce the spread of the fire.

As fire raged through the GAWU building, large flying debris at one stage posed a serious danger to the Guyoil gas station at the corner of Regent and Wellington streets.

And at 18:35 hrs, even as all energies and resources were turned on fighting the raging fires just across the road from the gas station, another fire mysteriously started up at the Strand Cinema. But firemen quickly extinguished the blaze.

Because of rapidly burning power lines, electricity had to be shut off in that part of the city, and by night fall the area took on an eerie appearance, with the fires providing the only form of light.

Streets were quickly cordoned off and security forces and an ambulance placed on standby.

A few residential buildings in Robb Street were also threatened, and residents, the Warrens, Hackets and Williams, were up to late last night seeking refuge in the middle of the road where all their belongings were packed.

On Robb Street, the fire stopped just before the Guyana Democratic Party office owned by Mr. Asgar Ally.

Giving thanks and praise, Mr. Ally credited it to the fact that he had his Quran in his office at the time of the fire. "By the grace of Allah, our building was not in any way damaged," he asserted gratefully.

The fire was described as one of the biggest and most devastating in the history of the capital city.

Less than a year ago, the Kissoons Group of Companies was hard hit by fire which completely destroyed the Park Hotel in Main Street. Following that fire, many of their employees were absorbed by the furniture store in Camp Street.

And Anand's too, only a few months ago suffered millions of dollars of losses through fire which destroyed its warehouse in Water Street.