Cable company loses millions in Alberttown fire

…commends GFS for swift response

One day after the fire at Lot 32, Third Street, Alberttown, Georgetown, was swiftly brought under control by firefighters and prevented the blaze from spreading, it has been reported that the cable and internet company suffered millions of dollars in losses despite the swift response by the Guyana Fire Service (GFS). Atlantic Cable TV Network, which has been in operation for approximately 26 years, was left blackened in the aftermath of the fire, which was eventually brought under control by firefighters. The fire occurred in a two-storey building along Third Street, Alberttown. Reports indicate that the blaze began at the back of the property on the lower level, with firefighters battling the fire from outside the building.

Speaking with this publication, Paula Farina, manager of the company, explained that the fire started around 15:30h. The affected area housed laptops, air conditioning units, office materials, televisions and a small data room. Farina explained that the area is usually staffed by three persons who handle customer payments and sign-ups for new services; however, she was the only person on the premises at the time of the incident.
“…I smelled something burning smelling like smoke or something to that effect, so I immediately came outside and started to look around to see where the smoke was. As soon as I got back into the building, I followed the scent, and it was coming from the back restroom/washroom area. We had some storage bins with documents, records and stuff from previous years at the back there, and that was on fire. So I exited, came back outside, and called the fire service.” While visibly distressed, she stated that millions of dollars were lost in the fire.

“The fire service had to break the glass to get the windows open and start their work. It’s mainly an office downstairs here that holds computers, AC units, office equipment, and televisions, and we’ve got a small data room downstairs that carries a few local channels. So, millions of dollars in damages, millions of dollars.” Meanwhile, the company urged customers to bear with service disruptions in affected areas until the weekend, stating that issues affecting various paid subscription services would be resolved.
“Yes, we’re trying to, as I said, not the entire network is down. It’s just the main areas affected by this fire, namely the Harbour Bridge and Queenstown areas. We’re trying to get power back up and running so that service can hopefully be restored over the weekend.”
Investigations are still proceeding into the actual cause of the fire.