Janet Silvera, Gleaner Writer
Policemen clearing debris from the Fustic Road area of Railway Gardens in Montego Bay yesterday. - PHOTO BY JANET SILVERA
WESTERN BUREAU:
FIFTEEN SHOPS were destroyed as fire yesterday razed the haberdashery section of the Charles Gordon Market in St. James.
Damage is estimated at just under $25 million. It is not yet clear what sparked the flames, but preliminary investigations point to an electrical short circuit. The fire started around 3:00 a.m. and reportedly burnt for a long time before the fire brigade responded. The shops were not insured.
However, a spokesperson for the fire department denied the claim, stating that the department received the call at 3:19 a.m. and firemen were on the scene within three minutes. The board shops were already engulfed in flames when the fire engine arrived.
The food division of the market, which houses the majority of the under 400 tenants in the building, was spared.
When The Gleaner arrived at the scene, scores of persons, including the shop owners, were seen milling around the charred remains of the shops, seemingly at a loss.
PIN TO AN ANCHOR
"I sold from a pin to an anchor," said Esmiline Roseway, who lost three shops. She said her goods which included shoes, clothes and haberdashery items were valued at $3.5 million. "If things were selling and we had money to put down to buy back the goods, it wouldn't be so bad," she told The Gleaner.
Dorothy Cole, who sold cooked food, lost two refrigerators, a stove, and pots and pans, among other things. Her loss is valued at $350,000. Most of the tenants are females who said they were the breadwinners in their households. "We don't know how we are going to manage, this is really a disaster," one said.
Ian Reid, secretary/manager of the St. James Parish Council who was on hand viewing the damage, told The Gleaner he was unable to say how soon the shops would be rebuilt.
He said his organisation will assist those affected as much as possible.
"We are always constrained by the resources available to us, but we will try to assist by making representation to other ministries," he said. He said the market itself is insured, but the insurance is usually for the property and not for the goods in the shops. In the meantime the fire victims said they are unaware of where to turn for help in the rebuilding process.
