Arsonists burn furniture factory and lumber yard

Last Updated on Tuesday, 1 September 2015, 11:54 by GxMedia

Fire, believed to be the work of arsonists,  early Tuesday morning destroyed part of a furniture factory at Bee Hive, East Coast Demerara

Residents lamented the poor response time by fire and police to the scene at  First Street, Bee-Hive Public Road. One resident complained that a fire tender arrived about 12 minutes from Mahaica Fire Station with only four minutes of water supply.  However, she praised the fire tender that went from Georgetown, saying that it was that one that played a major role in bringing the blaze under control.

Fire Chief Marlon Gentle told Demerara Waves Online News that the amount of water carried in a fire tender should be enough for an initial response while fire fighters locate another source of water near the scene.

Gentle said investigators believe that the fire was deliberately set because at the time the factory was not in operation and no electricity from a generator was being supplied to the building.

Other sources said Amar, who is the owner of the furniture store and lumber yard, and nearby residents are in constant disagreement; the latest having been on Sunday, August 30, 2015.

Experts estimated that 40 percent of the uninsured building, which housed the most important part of the business, was destroyed by fire.

Meanwhile, fire service and police were investigating two other fires during the pre-dawn hours of Tuesday that resulted in the destruction of a small mandir  at Bath Settlement, Wes Coast Berbice and a minibus on a desolate road at Yorkshire, Mahaicony.