Trucks destroyed by mystery fire at Chateau Margot

Oct 09, 2012 News

The owner of a mechanic shop at Chateau Margot, East Coast Demerara, is at his wits’ end to determine who was responsible for a fire that completely destroyed a truck and damaged two others early Sunday morning.
Sham Jitlall awoke around 01:30 hours on Sunday only to find that three trucks which were in his care for repairs were on fire.
Speaking with this newspaper yesterday, Jitlall said that he believes that the fire was deliberately set among a heap of garbage near the parked trucks.

The completely destroyed ERF Hauler

“My wife woke me up around one-thirty. When I look out through the window, I see this fire blazing and I raised an alarm. The neighbours come, but one of the trucks was already destroyed,” Jitlall explained. He said that the police were contacted and they alerted the fire department which he said responded promptly.
One GuySuCo fire tender and another from the city arrived and managed to contain the fire.
One ERF Hauler was completely destroyed, while there was significant damage to a 4×4 TM and a Foden Tanker.
The trucks are parked at a location that was previously an illegal dumpsite for garbage.
According to Jitlall, the area’s Neighbourhood Democratic Council (NDC) has prohibited the dumping of garbage there but persons, including the operators of a nearby furniture establishment, continue to dump there.
The mechanic strongly believes that with the shavings and sawdust, along with other flammable material, it is easy to start a fire there. He plans to petition the NDC to take stronger action to prevent the dumping of garbage at the site by persons, especially the operators of the furniture factory.