NA building destroyed by fire hours after demolition begins

A wooden and concrete building at Penitentiary Walk, New Amsterdam, was destroyed by fire shortly after 21:00h on Tuesday, just hours after the last tenants vacated the premises, as demolition works were already underway on the recently purchased property.
The blaze prompted a swift response from the Guyana Fire Service (GFS), who managed to contain the flames before they spread to neighbouring buildings. No injuries were reported, as the structure was unoccupied at the time of the fire.
Julius DeNoberga, who recently acquired the property, said he purchased the premises in September and had begun clearing the yard, which contained two buildings.

According to DeNoberga, demolition works commenced on Tuesday, with one building already fully demolished earlier in the day. Work had also begun on the second structure, which was initially scheduled to be pushed down using an excavator that had been brought onto the property.
However, during the afternoon, workers began removing sections of the roof and boards after indicating that some of the materials were still in usable condition. As a result, the building was partially dismantled before work ceased for the day.
DeNoberga said he left the property earlier on Tuesday and was later informed of the fire while at home.
He explained that the building had been occupied by tenants up until very recently. The downstairs tenants reportedly moved out on January 4, while the upstairs occupants vacated the premises on Monday night, just hours before the fire occurred.
He noted that the upstairs tenants had initially been given until the end of the month to relocate, acknowledging the difficulty many people face in finding rental accommodation. With one building already cleared and the other now empty, demolition works had begun on the vacated structure.
DeNoberga said he was not present when the fire started and could not provide any information on how the blaze originated. He added that there had been no disputes with the tenants.
Residents in the area were alerted by smoke and flames coming from the wooden structure, which allowed the fire to spread rapidly before firefighters arrived. The building sustained extensive damage and was effectively destroyed.
Up to press time, the cause of the fire remained undetermined, and investigations by the GFS are ongoing.