Mid-afternoon fire devastates Parika Market Centre

– over 150 vendors counting millions in losses
– GFS launches investigation

A raging inferno brought the Parika Market Centre on the East Bank of Essequibo (EBE) crumbling down on Friday – an unexpected disaster that destroyed millions in goods and dismantled the livelihoods of many.
The mid-afternoon fire reportedly started at about 14:30h after thick black smoke was seen billowing from the structure.

The area, a hub for trade and transport, is bustling with people at any time of the day. It is a commercial zone in which many have plied their trade for decades. And as the fire swept through the structure, many rushed out to save themselves while bystanders looked on in disbelief.
On the other hand, firefighters undertook the dangerous task of attempting to contain the blaze. Fire tenders from as far as Georgetown were deployed to quell the raging fire, which was budding out of control.
The speedboat and ferry service, which operates a stone’s throw away at the Parika Stelling, was also forced to cease operations.
One businessman, Imran Salim told Guyana Times that he was in his stall when the alarm of fire was signalled and there was nothing left to do but rush out of the structure.

Salim operated a gold business and has pegged his losses at over $200 million. He alleged that persons were welding the new steel structure at the market place when sparks fell in a combustible area.
“We had to run and leave everything because we would have died,” the distraught businessman expressed.
Home Affairs Minister Robeson Benn and Minister within the Public Works Ministry Deodat Indar immediately rushed to the scene, where firefighters were working to control the blaze.
Benn stated that the firefighters utilised water from the Essequibo River. Along with a probe of the incident, authorities were planning to meet with affected vendors to conduct an assessment of their losses.
“We heard there was an outbreak of a fire here at the Parika Marketing Centre. A total of four units were dispatched. They used up the water they had in the tanks. They retained the rest of the water from open source, which is the river. We understand that we will have to confirm later that there was welding going on in the building and that the sparks fell down onto flammable substances. That is what we understand so far but I want to caution that we have to confirm that,” Benn told media operatives.
Minister Indar was liaising with authorities for the offloading of vessels. He noted that upon his arrival, the entire market was already destroyed. High winds from the river would have exacerbated the spread of the inferno.
“Within this market is an excess of over 160 persons and everything is gone,” he noted, adding that 95 per cent of the fire was contained at that time.
By the time the Guyana Fire Service (GFS) managed to put the fire out, the structure was completely destroyed. Only a steel structure was standing. Business owners were seen counting their losses. Complaints were also reported of unknown persons carting off with valuables in the heat of the fire.
At the scene was the President of the Region Three Chamber of Commerce, Halim Khan, who called for better measures in place. Khan said the Fire Service would definitively conclude on the origin and cause of the fire after their investigation, amid several allegations that were surfacing from persons on the scene.
In recent months, authorities have sounded alarms over the chronic cases of fires across the country, which have included major public buildings. (Rupa Seenarine)