Fire guts city Chinese establishment

Jul 13, 2015 News

Fire of unknown origin razed the Chinese General Store at Robb and Camp Streets at around 02.00 hrs yesterday, but quick work by the Guyana Fire Service prevented further disaster.

The building being reduced to embers

The remains of the building

The two-storied building is owned by RNK Investments and housed a restaurant and hardware store.
The property is surrounded by other multi-million dollar establishments like the recently erected Teleperformance building, the popular City Mall as well as Republic Bank.
Fire Chief Marlon Gentle said that several persons contacted Fire Service ranks at around 2:35 hours to report that the Chinese restaurant was on fire. He stated that because of the magnitude of the fire, all units in Georgetown were called out.
Fire fighters fought hard and long to contain the fire from spreading to the nearby buildings, which were also under threat.
The Fire Chief commended them for a job well done since the building was used as a variety store that sold a number of flammable items, which enabled the fire to spread quickly.

Republic Bank, Camp Street windows covered with plyboard

Fire Chief Marlon Gentle (in cap at centre) at the scene

“Apart from that, the other buildings around are very close and made of wood and therefore our resolve was to ensure that we have the fire completely surrounded so it could not have jumped or crossed the street and we were successful in carrying out this mission.”
The window panes in the upper flat of the Republic Bank building were shattered, forcing staffers to immediately replace them with ply board. The fire service is still to ascertain the cause of the blaze.
In 2001, Fire had razed the Kissoon’s Furniture City which was located at the same location.