Blaze could have been contained
-owners, fire chief defends department
By Gitanjali Singh and Johann Earle
Stabroek News
November 15, 2003
The owners of Auto Supplies Company Ltd. (ASCO), Royal Castle and Mohamed's Enterprise say the Lombard and Hadfield streets fire on Thursday night could have been contained much earlier, avoiding huge financial losses.
However, the fire chief says low water pressure, the combustible nature of the material and a north eastern breeze all conspired to thwart his ranks' "determined" efforts to get the blaze under control.
The fire at the corner of Lombard and Hadfield Streets started shortly before 10 pm when a container truck hit a utility pole in front of Mohamed's Enterprise. The impact of the truck caused the electrical connection to Royal Castle to be ripped out and cut power to the entire area. However, Royal Castle's generator started within three seconds as part of an automatic system but the exposure of the electrical inlet on the upper flat sparked a small fire, which soon grew into an uncontrollable inferno.
Brian James, owner of Asco and part-owner in Royal Castle, said that by the time he got to the scene, some half an hour after the fire started, there were one or two hoses in use and inadequate supplies of water.
"I may be a bit overly concerned because of my involvement but the fire service is less than 300 feet...within looking distance...but there were no workers or water. I think they could have done something better.... I thought the containment could have been better rather than a total loss," James said yesterday.
A panoramic view of the destruction wrought by Thursday's fire on Hadfield and Lombard streets which consumed Royal Castle, Auto Supplies and Mohamed's Enterprise. Smoke was still issuing from the ruins yesterday morning. (Ken Moore photo)
Nazar Mohamed of Mohamed's Enterprise put it more strongly, saying the firemen were "very lackadaisical" and ill-prepared to respond to a fire. He said the response team comprised less than four men and it was not until the flames engulfed the two buildings that more firemen came on the scene.
"I am amazed...I read so much about the fire service getting equipment, yet it is incapable of dealing with any crisis," said Mohamed. He was also astonished to see the firemen directing their attention to a telegraph post, which was no way threatened while the buildings were ablaze.
He said his workers, with assistance from Glen Lall, owner of Kaieteur News and Rizman Khan, owner of the Discount Store and some of their workers, climbed onto his building and put up a far better struggle to contain the fire than the firemen.
"It is atrocious. I went into the building ... but I had no fear in my mind that my building would get caught by the fire...I certainly felt that the fire service would have contained the fire...the fire service is just a stone's throw away but when they came it was with one hose, one truck and hardly any water...Auto Supplies is made from pitch pine and the fire caught quite fast....," Mohamed said.
Fire chief 'clears air'
But in a statement to the Government Information Agency, Fire Chief Carlyle Washington stressed it would have been catastrophic if the fire-fighters had started to douse the fire immediately because of the live electrical wires. He suggested many persons would have been electrocuted had they done so. "We all know that water is a conductor of electricity."
He said the oils and tyres, haberdashery and the breeze were contributory factors and pointed out that the Asco building was made of pitch pine, a wood which produces a type of oil when heated.
He said three tenders were at the scene, one each from Headquarters, Ruimveldt and Campbellville. "When the water from the tenders and a Land Rover with 2000 gallons from the LBI estate were exhausted, the Land Rover headed to the South road canal to pump water." The fire chief, GINA says, noted that water pressure was low and that was the reason there was not sufficient water in the hydrants. Realising that other measures had to be taken fire-fighters then went to the Georgetown stelling to source water from the Demerara River. Simultaneously a vehicle was dispatched to the Shelter belt to have the water pressure increased to the fire area. Washington said the telephone system in the area was also disrupted so it was difficult to contact the Shelter belt.
It was only in March that the Georgetown Sewerage and Water Commissioners (GS&WC), now merged with the Guyana Water Inc, had said that despite continuous efforts to repair and replace hydrants damaged or destroyed by vandals or accidents, half of the city's hydrants were at present non-functional.
A Stabroek News report said that the GS&WC, which is the utility that supplies water to Georgetown, has the overall responsibility for ensuring that facilities are available for fire-fighting purposes within its boundaries.
In November 2002, the fire service acquired three new tenders at a cost in excess of $130M. Each tender carries a 4,500-litre water tank which makes it capable of fighting a fire for up to 45 minutes.
One man said when two tenders from the Guyana Fire Service came, they had no water.
He said that by the time the firemen were able to arrange to get water from the Demerara River, the entire complex was up in flames, and the water did very little to control the inferno.
Meanwhile Mohamed confirmed that persons, pretending that they wanted to help rescue stock, were actually looting his building. The top flat of his building housed the Guyana Islamic Trust secretariat, while the middle flat held his bond and the lower flat housed a clothing department, an internet café, household appliances and a jewellery section.
One man told Stabroek News too that members of the Guyana Police force came and prevented persons from assisting in the removal of articles from the burning buildings. This was at the time when the fire had not grown too large. "The police telling people to 'go back', 'get out de place' when people only trying to help," the eyewitness recounted. He blames the police for the loss of many items which he felt could have been saved if persons had been allowed to go in for them.
According to reports, the police made several arrests of persons who were caught coming out of the buildings with articles. They were reportedly bundled into vehicles and taken away.
But Mohamed said his real concern was the audacity of John Fernandes Limited in pulling the container truck which caused the fire through a one way street and away from the scene as both buildings were ablaze.
"From the moment the truck hit the post. The driver jumped out of the truck and went away," said Mohamed.
A source at the shipping company told Stabroek News that the driver of the truck did not work yesterday. But the vehicle he drove on Thursday night, GCC 9702, which is owned by John Fernandes Limited, was back on the road hauling containers. Containers are often moved around at night to take advantage of lighter traffic.
An eyewitness said that he believes that from what he saw the driver had a problem with the vehicle's steering, which caused him to lose control. But efforts to get an official confirmation from John Fernandes Limited were unsuccessful.
Meanwhile Deputy Mayor Robert Williams, who is now performing the duties of Mayor, has requested a review of the movements of container hauling trucks and other eighteen-wheelers within the precincts of the city.