Fire guts Ravina's stores bond
by Wendella Davidson
MILLIONS of dollars in uninsured fabrics and other stocks stored in a Georgetown bond owned by the popular Ravina's chain of stores were destroyed when fire gutted the building yesterday morning. The searing heat from the stacks of clothing in the bond and a heavy wind changing direction made their job more difficult but firefighters managed to contain the flames to the complex, the former Guyana Gajraj building on Water Street. The flames reportedly broke out shortly after 09:00 hrs in the northwestern section of the wooden building. It was the second huge fire of unknown origin in the area. On May 6, fire destroyed the Park Hotel on nearby Main Street, which also housed the popular New Thriving Restaurant. The building which was insured was at 13/14 Water and Schumaker streets, opposite the Wieting and Richter Ice House, and was owned by Mr Harry Panday, Managing Director of Avinash General Store, one in the chain of Ravina's stores owned by the Panday siblings that market fabrics, footwear and other goods. Some three buildings in the compound were destroyed with only one being saved along with a minimum amount of stocks including cloth and footwear. A dazed-looking Panday declined comment to reporters on the scene as he paced the area, occasionally passing instructions to staffers. Firemen using seven units and a back-up tender from a sugar estate, fought valiantly to contain the raging flames from reaching other building in the vicinity. They were hampered by low water pressure, a strong morning wind which helped to fan the flames and the intense heat. Fire Chief Tulsie John said the capabilities of his units were severely tested as the wind often changed direction, and they in turn were forced too to change their strategy. "We have cut off the fire at this stage and we'll be moving into mopping up operations in a short while", he said at one stage. "There is no other building under threat at the moment. "The wind has been playing all sorts of games with us, blowing in different directions and as it changed direction we have had to change our strategy," the Fire Chief said. He noted that the building contained a huge amount of combustible materials which also helped to feed the flames. At one point, firefighters had to train their hoses to douse flames which spread to the `Foreman's' building on the south. It was not until about 11:10 hrs, after the upper floor of the bond was reduced to rubble, that the firemen were able to enter the bottom floor. Malcolm, one of the Panday brothers who described the losses as "plenty, plenty", said the building was acquired from Guyana Gajraj about 10 years ago. As the fire raged several employees, including women, helped fetch furniture, some stocks and other items to a safe spot on Water Street, just outside the burning building. A few female employees who were overcome with grief cried. Sonia Persaud, a Wages Supervisor who was based at the bond, said she and colleagues arrived at work at the usual 08:15 hrs. Some time later, she heard shouts of fire and said she picked up her bag and hustled out of the building. Police in numbers at the scene quickly maintained control of the crowd of curious onlookers which included staffers from a number of nearby offices. Students of the Sacred Heart Primary School in Main Street, southeast of the fire, were evacuated and sent home. Police Commissioner Laurie Lewis said the police established cordon points of about 150 yards away from the scene, at five different areas to enable the firemen to execute their job without hindrance. They also kept a watchful eye on the saved stuff to prevent any looting. For probably the first time, police ranks at a fire scene were under the command of Senior Superintendent Greta McDonald. This was in the absence of three senior officers regularly in command at such scenes, at least one now studying law in Trinidad. Asked whether he was concerned about the spate of recent fires at business places, Lewis said, "it is something you have to be concerned about...one has to be very, very watchful." "One has to be concerned, it may well be that that we have to talk to businesses about looking at fire-fighting resources, " he said, adding, "the indication is that both the Fire (Service) and police should speak to business places and ensure that they tighten up on their fire-fighting arrangements", Lewis said. Reiterating that "we need to be very, very careful at this time to ensure that all the fire-fighting arrangements are in order", the Commissioner said too that inspectors may also have to visit business premises more frequently, and do a lot more work to ensure that preventative as opposed to reactive measures were taken. Arson is suspected in the burning of a rice mill at Devonshire Castle, Essequibo Coast, recently and in the razing of a cinema earlier this month at Met-en-Meerzorg, West Coast Demerara. Police are investigating those two fires.
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