Durban Street fire victim arrested

Jul 11, 2011 News

– as police investigate claim of robbery under arms

Fire victim Jerry Chow was arrested and is in police custody just hours after his Lot 18 Durban Street business went up in flames.
Kaieteur News was told by police sources that Chow and another man who claimed to be the landlord have been detained and are assisting with police investigations.
According to police Chow was detained under the suspicion that he might have started Saturday night’s fire. However, Mr. Chow is denying this, stating that he was about three corners away when the fire started.
Further, Kaieteur News was also told that the two men may have had a property feud. Meanwhile this newspaper caught up with Chow’s wife while she was visiting her husband yesterday, and according to the woman, the police had arrested her husband on a robbery-under-arms charge. The woman refused to say further on the matter. Efforts yesterday to contact Fire Chief Marlon Gentle proved futile.

The burnt out Durban Street business place

Initial reports indicated that the fire, which destroyed the two-storey building located at Lot 18 D’Urban Street, Wortmanville on Saturday night, was electrical in origin.
The fire left four persons homeless and millions of dollars in losses.
The lower flat housed a liquor restaurant and beer garden, while the top flat, where the fire reportedly started, was occupied by Chow, his wife and two children. They were not at home at the time.
Chief Fire Officer Marlon Gentle who was present at the scene on Saturday commended his ranks for preventing the blaze from spreading to nearby properties.
Mr. Harcourt Brown, who occupies the upper flat next to the destroyed building, said that he had just come out of the shower when he noticed “an orange light” at his eastern window. He then saw the flames and immediately raised an alarm.
A distraught Mr. Jimmy Chow, who claimed that he had lost everything, said he was at another premises some three corners away when someone informed him that his home was on fire. He then hurried home where his worst fears were confirmed.
Asked how the fire might have started, Chow said that neighbours informed him that they had seen fire emanating from an electrical wire leading to his home.
But according to Mr. Chow, he uses a generator to supply his home with electricity.
He stated that he was living at the property for the past 12 to 13 years and paid the rates and taxes.