Fire Service confirms welding residue cause of Parika Market Fire

THE Guyana Fire Service (GFS), on Sunday, confirmed that residue from a welding torch came into contact with nearby combustible materials, leading to the horrific fire that recently destroyed a large portion of the Parika Market Complex, East Bank Essequibo.

According to a press release from the Fire Service, reports of this fire were received at about 15:14hrs. on Friday. Five water tenders, a bowser, and two support vehicles from the Leonora, La Grange, Eccles, Campbellville, Central, and West Ruimveldt fire stations were dispatched to the location.

High winds and market area’s clustered layout, however, constrained fire-fighting efforts. Consequently, the entire building and its contents were destroyed before the fire was extinguished.

Subsequently, an investigation was launched and it was found that residue from a welding torch that fell into a storage bond, igniting nearby combustible materials.

Many vendors have been affected by this fire. On Friday, they were seen running from the fiery blaze and shielding themselves from the thick black smoke. They had no choice but to leave all their belongings behind.

Home Affairs Minister, Robeson Benn, who was at the scene at the time of fire, assured the vendors that officials from the government will be meeting with them shortly.

“We intend to meet with those who claim they have losses and make listings for consideration, evaluation and assessments and then we will take it from there,” he said. He added that the issue must be approached in a systematic way.

Head of the Region Three Private Sector Inc. (R3PSInc), Halim Khan, who was also at the scene, said that this will be a hard economic hit for the region.

“Everyone knows that the market here has been existing for decades. We have goldsmiths, we have all other persons selling electronics and everything is completely destroyed; and so, everyone who sells in the market here, they have to start back from scratch,” he said.

The market was said to be in the second phase of rehabilitation works that were sched