The owners and staff of Regent Household Electronics, located on Regent Street between Light and Albert streets, Georgetown, looked on helplessly last evening as their business complex continued to burn, having caught afire around 1 pm.
One of the owners who was on site told Kiskadee Watch that she believed it stemmed from the issues that the Guyana Power and Light (GPL) has been having lately, including low voltage and constant blackouts. However, the cause of the fire has not been verified by authorities.
An employee, who spoke to this publication in tears, said she worked with the store for years but did not have details about the fire. She said it all started around 1 pm and that she believed the four-storey building caught fire from the top floor and the devastation moved downward.
The owner, who was on site with her husband, contended that the Guyana Fire Service (GFS) did not have water “as usual.” She expressed the firm belief that the fire started as a result of the problems that GPL has been experiencing lately. Her husband, also on the site, said he was not in a state of mind to share any information.
A fire attendant on the scene said the GFS has been battling the fire since after lunch and had continued doing so into the night.
Public Relations Officer at the GFS Odellis Williams told Kiskadee Watch on the scene that the firefighting operation was complicated by the large amount of combustible material inside the building, including electronics, fabric and plastic. She explained that these materials can take longer to extinguish, contributing to the prolonged firefighting effort.
Williams said firefighters nevertheless succeeded in containing the blaze to the building where it originated, preventing it from spreading to nearby businesses and living quarters at the rear of the property.
According to her, preliminary indications were that the fire started on the top floor and subsequently spread downward.
Meanwhile, the fire was reported to the GFS at about 1:03 p.m. and firefighters arrived at the scene within approximately three minutes, according to Deputy Chief Fire Officer Dwayne Scotland, who provided an update during a GFS live broadcast.
“The fire is under control. We have managed to contain the fire to one building,” Scotland said.
Ten firefighters were involved in the operation, while the Guyana Police Force assisted with crowd control as large numbers of people gathered in the area to watch the firefighting effort.
A hoist with a platform to fight the fire was deployed to the area by the GFS.
The blaze caused significant disruption along Regent Street, with sections between Light and Albert streets blocked off to facilitate firefighting operations. A number of other roads in the vicinity were also closed.
Several nearby buildings appeared threatened as thick smoke and flames engulfed the business, while businesses along that section of Georgetown’s main commercial corridor were forced to close or suspend operations.
Guyana Power and Light disconnected electricity in the area as a precaution. A fire appliance equipped with a large aerial platform was also deployed to the scene, although it was not immediately clear whether the equipment was used during the early stages of the operation.
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