Fire has devastated Regent Household Plus on Regent Street, Georgetown.
Deputy Chief Fire Officer Dwayne Scotland, in an update carried during a Guyana Fire Service live broadcast, said the service received the report at approximately 1.03 pm and arrived at the scene within three minutes.
He said the fire involved the approximately three-storey building, and firefighters managed to contain the blaze to that structure. Ten firefighters were involved in the operation, he added.
“The fire is under control. We have managed to contain the fire to one building,” Scotland said.
The Guyana Police Force was also assisting with crowd control, and Scotland appealed to members of the public to stay away from the area to allow firefighters to work without obstruction.
Several nearby buildings initially appeared to be threatened as flames and smoke engulfed the store. Most businesses along that section of Regent Street, Georgetown’s principal shopping hub, were closed because of the fire, while the Guyana Power and Light disconnected electricity in the area as a precaution.
A fire appliance fitted with a large aerial platform was also at the scene. However, during the period covered by the live broadcast, the equipment did not appear to have been deployed.
There was no immediate word on the cause of the fire or the extent of the losses.A nearby fire hydrant appeared not to have been used. The fire service relied on open sources of water.
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