The burnt-out interior of one of Georgetown's historical wooden buildings provides yet another warning as to how dangerously fragile fixed capital structures of this type (or others for that matter) have become in what is clearly a New Millennium environment.
The very location, Hadfield and Lombard Streets, had in past times experienced overhead sparks, some from the skidding, the heavy friction of tram car wheels and cable lines that (from above) powered these early 20th century public transports.
Ironically, only recently an exhibition of Old Georgetown depicted the Lombard Street/Stabroek Mc Inroy Building where so many old timers used to congregate and gaff.
The November 13th fire that destroyed Royal Castle and the adjoining Auto Supplies Company Limited (ASCO) and then spread to Mohamed's Enterprises, practically gutting it, cannot compare with the March 7th 2003 fire in Main and Pitt Streets, New Amsterdam, that engulfed 19 businesses and daubed out an entire sector of Berbice's commercial life. Yet the loss estimated from the "Roja" (or Ramadan) fire in Stabroek runs into tens of millions of dollars.
The disaster could have been more severe were it not for the fact that a 'natural' fire break consisting of a double open lot separated Auto Supplies from Sylvie's Variety and Electronic Store east of the Hadfield Street firm.
This factor ought to be seriously evaluated by local authorities and the City Engineer's Department.
The Government has accepted the Greater Georgetown Development Plan (GGDP), which spans 2001 to 2010. This urban project envisages "safe way" shopping malls and zones as well as specific arrangements for the re-routing of traffic and, most important, a pedestrian and parking lot facility. Last year Cabinet Secretary Dr. Roger Luncheon informed us that Cabinet had provided strong support for a development plan that "specifically addresses concerns relating to the drainage, traffic and vendors' situation and the availability of space within the city boundaries."
With a focus on steel and Ferro-concrete, a rehabilitated shopping zone urban arrangement would qualitatively transform Georgetown from hopeless susceptibility to the type of fires such as the New Amsterdam inferno and November's "Roja" burnout that, as all fires do, set business, personal well-being, family welfare and the national economy back several steps.
It would be foolhardy to believe that even with the implementation of the Greater Georgetown Development Plan, disaster of some sort would not strike. But doing our best to avoid a repetition of this month's big-loss fire is not an option.
Almost all of the city's wholesale/retail outlets are designed as virtual stockrooms and/or warehouses. These are actually commodity businesses whose premises are often stacked with five-gallon containers of diesel or gas oils. This practice began in the early 1970s when such materials became expensive or difficult to obtain and hoarding was a vital means of tending to one's business interests.
Unfortunately, the practice continues to the present time. Worse, these containers likely carry nil automatic safety conduits that allow the oil to be released once a certain degree of Fahrenheit temperature (fire level) is reached. Under pressure, they burst and stream into the fire, rendering the use of water extremely dangerous for firefighters.
Under these circumstances, the low water pressure argument fades in the background.
These stockroom kinds of stores, with a minimal area reserved for customers, are in fact cramped premises with counters, washroom and security office all located on single or ground level premises - unlike Fogarty's, Guyana Stores and a few other complexes that are built with multi-level shopping linkages.
But even these are constructed similar to the single level shops in terms of 'public space'; much of which is regularly taken up with "additional" or specialty" counters selling cosmetics, gifts, etc.
Fire drills or fire precaution exercises, exactly what to do in a ground floor conflagration, is generally inadequate, especially as this relates to premises where either highly or semi-combustible materials or substances are stored.
Perhaps it was this factor that led to Fire Chief Carlye Washington commenting that, "the building was constructed of pitch-pine." A certainly unique way of relating to what was a highly unusual situation!
Hopefully, the Lombard/Hadfield Street fire has signaled to Guyana Power and Light Inc. that it has to quickly design and just as quickly implement a new wiring strategy. It's not unusual for exposed electric wires connected to a GPL utility pole to result in fire.
One glaring example was the Mon Repos North Scheme fire earlier this month. Reports indicate that the exposed wire at Mon Repos had been 'sparking' for years despite the company being informed of that fact.
In the case of the November fire the power company should have taken the precaution of placing an illuminated warning device stating clearly and in simple language that a 69KV transmission of power through a transformer and utility pole is situated approximately X feet from the Lombard Street "centerline". That, in effect, might have militated against/prevented the movement of certain types of heavy-duty vehicles in that area.
The authorities clearly have some work to do to avoid another fire disaster.