Too early to say what caused it – Brassington

Oct 12, 2009 News

Regent Street Fire…

While Shaheed Hamid is of the opinion that the fire which razed his business establishments on Regent Street on Friday was caused by an electrical wire in front of his premises, Chairman of the Guyana Power and Light Company (GPL) Winston Brassington has said that the company has no idea who is at fault at this point in time.
“It is very unfortunate to see what has happened. I don’t think any of us would like to see a property go up in fire, but we don’t have any information to say one way or the other who was at fault here…not at this time,” Brassington told reporters after a tour of the Kingston Power Plant on Saturday.
After the fire had erupted last Friday evening, some persons had reported seeing the GPL wire on fire, and concluded that this may have caused the fire.
However, according to Brassington, he has seen the reports in the newspapers, but cannot comment further on the matter until the fire report is submitted and until the investigations are over.
The GPL Chairman noted that the Chief Executive Officer of GPL, has explained on several occasions that sometimes a GPL wire maybe sparking and then a fire erupts, but that does not mean that the fire originated from the wire.
“But it is a very technical matter. Sometimes a fire may originate on a property and then the wires are seen sparking outside of the building…it doesn’t mean that the fire started outside and went into the building. Maybe the other way around. But these are purely technical matters, and I will have to be guided by the reports that come in and by the technical people,” Brassington told reporters.
Kaieteur News had reported that the fire razed through three business houses and also destroyed a cottage on Regent Street, Georgetown on Friday last.
The fire which started about 15:30 hours destroyed a clothing store, Household Plus and Electronics and DM Beauty World.
From all accounts, the fire started at Household Plus and quickly spread to the neighbouring stores, creating panic for residents and other businesses nearby.
The losses are estimated to be in excess of $100 million.

(Fareeza Haniff).