Fire guts Royal Castle, ASCO and Mohamed's
Truck crashing into utility pole blamed for inferno
By Nigel Williams
Stabroek News
November 14, 2003
Three large businesses including Royal Castle went up in flames last night when an out-of-control container truck crashed into a utility pole on Lombard Street causing a power surge that sparked a catastrophic fire.
The fire started at the back of the Royal Castle restaurant on Hadfield Street and quickly spread across to the nearby Auto Supplies Company and then Mohamed's Jewellery and gift shop which is at the back of Royal Castle on Lombard Street.
As has been the case on many occasions, even though the Guyana Fire Service headquarters is nearby and its response was prompt, an inadequate number of fire-fighters and inoperable fire hydrants hobbled their operation.
Scores of government officials along with Leader of the Opposition, Robert Corbin were on the scene minutes after the fire started offering words of comfort to the victims.
Giving an eyewitness account of the accident that preceded the fire, Bradley Neblette said he was walking in a northerly direction along Lombard Street around 9:45 when he heard the loud roar of the truck's engine.
According to the young man he immediately looked behind him only to see the truck with a John Fernandes Limited logo on it trying to overtake another vehicle.
"So I get out de way, but as he was about to overtake the vehicle the truck run off the road and hit down the pole."
Neblette said immediately there was a power outage in the area, adding that as the pole fell some of the electrical wires began to spark.
According to Neblette it was soon after this that he heard a loud explosion coming from inside the back of the Trinidad-based Royal Castle after which a small fire ignited. It is believed that a generator was in use in the area.
"I started to run and the fire people dem who deh right around the corner was also in blackout."
He said fire-fighters responded within minutes by which time the fire had begun to eat away at Royal Castle. Their efforts were severely hampered because when they checked for water at the fire hydrant no water was running.
This forced the fire-fighters to retreat for a few minutes before extending their hoses to the Demerara River from where they received a steady flow of water.
When Stabroek News arrived on the scene there was pandemonium. Hundreds of citizens along with the owners Around 10 pm only Royal Castle was on fire, but only two water hoses were in operation and the water pressure was weak. As the fire began to spread, combustible items in the food centre exploded feeding the hungry inferno which then quickly caught the roof. With high winds and a lack of manpower the fire quickly spread across the building and caught onto nearby Auto Supplies Company (ASCO).
Proprietor of ASCO and Royal Castle partner, Brian James, could only watch as his business was devoured by the unrelenting jets of fire. He was on the scene when only Royal Castle was alight. James watched from the across the road with onlookers in the crowd whispering that he should begin to drive out some of the expensive vehicles on display in the store. Before anything could be done made the fire latched onto his store and began to consume it.
A mad rush was then made by a few relatives and public-spirited citizens and a few vehicles were towed out of the store. But the majority was burnt to ash.
As the fire took control of Auto Supplies, Royal Castle by now was almost completely burnt. Thick smoke billowed into the air and with strong winds the fire became more threatening. Huge explosions erupted in ASCO as the fire caught on car wheels and other combustible objects further fuelling the flames. The firemen at this point looked helpless, some of their hoses lay limp on the ground and members of the crowd began to hurl derogatory remarks.
It was around 10:30 when the Mohamed's building began to smoke and the confusion grew. As a precautionary measure the fire-fighters turned their attention to Parliament Buildings across the street, dousing it with water to prevent any spread of the fire. While this was being done the owner of Mohamed's arrived on the scene and started to fetch out a few things from the store. It was not too long before the four-storey building was on fire. Once this happened scores of onlookers made a mad dash into the building, looting electrical appliances and cosmetics among other things at great risk to their lives.
Even with the blazing fire men and women could be seen forcing their way through windows of the stores and carrying away things. At one point a burnt-out part of the building crashed and hit a few of them, but they managed to escape without any serious injuries. The fire then threatened the nearby Guyana National Cooperative Bank building and at one point a small fire was seen on the ceiling. This was however put out.
Efforts by this newspaper to speak to the victims of the fire were unsuccessful as they all declined, saying they were too distraught.
Up to early this morning the acrid smell of the burnt-out buildings and thick black smoke filled the air as the firemen battled to completely put out the fire.
Losses are believed to be in the tens of millions of dollars and many jobs have been lost. Royal Castle opened up its first restaurant here several years ago and another is due to open up on Sheriff Street in the coming months.