The former Sheriff Nightclub, Restaurant and Bar was yesterday afternoon razed by a fire of unknown origin.
The once-popular nightspot at Lot 10 Sheriff Street, Campbellville, which was also at one time the base for the Sheriff Taxi Service, had been unoccupied for some time.
The fire began shortly after 3 pm and three fire trucks responded. However, firefighters were challenged as they encountered difficulties sourcing water. The fire trucks were filled with water, which was used up soon after they arrived, but the fire continued to blaze. The fire service had to source water from a nearby fire hydrant and the Lamaha Canal.
Divisional Commander of the Guyana Fire Service Compton Sparman told reporters that sourcing water from the Lamaha Canal had posed some difficulties as a result of the canal being heavily silted.
“We encountered some problems when we got here,” Sparman said. “The flames burst out and the fire truck from Campbellville only carried 400 gallons of water… The two others from Central carried 1,000 and 4,000 gallons of water…”
However, that was not enough to put the fire out.
“On the top floor,” Sparman said, “the fire kept spreading rapidly and got out of control, because of limited water and the heat prevented us to some extent.”
He said they eventually managed to confine the flames to the building and worked to quickly put out the fire after they secured water.
The fire service was praised by some of the onlookers for saving the buildings next door from catching fire.
While Stabroek News was on the scene it was observed that portable tanks of water were also deployed to the scene to aid in the firefighting.
Meanwhile, owner of the property, Dave Pooran, 37, said the building was unoccupied and had been for approximately nine months. He explained that the building was about to be rented to Truck Masters but the paperwork had not yet been completed.
Pooran explained after arriving on the scene, he was told by neighbours that the fire was electrical in origin but to his knowledge there was no electricity to the building. “The neighbours said a wire was sparking. I don’t know about that. The building didn’t have current for some months” he said.
Meanwhile, Davis Bacchus, son of the former owner of the building, said the building was estimated to be worth approximately $100 million.
Investigations are ongoing.
