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Fire razes Demerara Shipping workshop, Lombard Street business
(Kaieteur News) – An early morning fire yesterday gutted the workshop of the Demerara Shipping Company Limited on Water Street, along with sections of Herman and Sons Tailoring and Suit Rental on Lombard Street, Georgetown.
The workshop of the Demerara Shipping Company Limited was gutted by the fire.
While workers at ‘Demerara Shipping’ declined to comment, Giovanni Bholaisingh known as Richard told Kaieteur News that the fire ripped through a section of the third storey of the family-owned tailoring business, resulting in millions of dollars in losses but sparing the lives of everyone including his wife and five children.
Bholaisingh and his family were asleep when he received a telephone call around 2:30 a.m. informing him that the building was on fire. He said he immediately rushed from his bedroom and ran downstairs to investigate but after seeing that the front of the property was intact, he went to the rear of the building where a gush of fire went straight to his face after opening the back door.
Bholaisingh and his family (centre) works with staff to clean the fire-damaged business in preparation for reopening.
Herman and Sons Tailoring and Suit Rental on Lombard Street, Georgetown.
Believing that the blaze started in the neighbouring property before spreading to his building, he said he quickly shifted his focus to saving his family and whatever assets he could salvage. “I started grabbing my vehicle keys and my kids and started driving out the vehicles and seeing what I could save,” he explained. “I started pulling out the machines and putting them in my truck,” he said, noting that residents and onlookers gathered in large numbers as firefighters were on the scene. “There were a lot of people out here. If there was an opening anywhere, they would have come and looted everything.”
According to Bholaisingh, the neighbouring building was completely destroyed by the fire. While the exact cause remains unknown, he said several persons in the area reported hearing small explosions during the fire. “I couldn’t hear anything because my room is enclosed,” he said, noting that it could have been gas bottles or welding cylinders because of the kind of work that is done in the workshop.
He noted that at least two trucks parked on the neighbouring property were also destroyed. However, among the most significant losses for him was his professional sound system rental business, which operated alongside the tailoring enterprise. “My entire music system that I would rent to weddings and other events was completely burnt out,” he said. “That alone is valued at about $35 to $40 million.” Several washing machines and other pieces of equipment were also damaged or destroyed, he said.
Bholaisingh assessing his losses.
Despite the losses, Bholaisingh praised the Guyana Fire Service for preventing the building from being completely consumed. “The fire station did a good job,” he said. “The woman in charge of the crew, I don’t know her name, but she actually saved the building from getting further damage.”
Early Sunday morning, workers were engaged in major cleaning as Bholaisingh sought to resume operations as quickly as possible. “We are trying to clean up so we can open for business tomorrow morning (this morning),” he said. “This is the only income I have. I can’t depend on the music rental anymore.”
Water damage has also created additional challenges as leaking sections of firefighting hoses caused water to soak clothing and materials inside the store. “I have all my workers trying to dry the place so that GPL can come and put back the lights,” he said, adding that a certified electrician was also needed to make sure the wiring was intact.
According to Bholaisingh, this is the third time that the business has been affected by fire. It was established in the 1960s in Corentyne by his grandfather and has operated for decades as one of the country’s longstanding tailoring businesses.
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