A Corentyne businessman suffered over $40m in losses during the wee hours of this morning after a fire suspected to be arson completed destroyed the premises where he resided and operated his business.
Harrinarine Singh, 63, of Number 75 Village, Corentyne, explained, that around 3 am today he heard a car horn blowing in front of his house, “When I wake up the man telling me the house on fire at the back part and me run a back and me run back in the room and wake up me wife and wake up me child”.
The businessman said that at the time there was a power outage in the area so they were not able to see much hence they ran to their verandah.
Singh, who is a distributor of fish and operated a block-making business on his premises said that they were forced to jump from the verandah to the top of their shed and onto a truck to escape.
According to Singh, although residents phoned the fire service after they saw fire at the back of the house, the fire service took a long time to respond.
“When they come, half a the house on fire and when they do come and when they put the hose it cannot draw water. They had to bring out one next pump and then them start soak them two house over there”, he lamented.
It was noted that the fire started in an area in the lower flat of the two-storey concrete and wooden house where there are no electrical items.
According to Singh, the items he lost included several exercising machines, vehicle parts, freezers, three large ice containers, and other equipment along with his licensed firearm.
However, three of Singh’s trucks and a car which were parked on the road did not suffer any damage.
The fire also caught on to the side of a neighbour’s house and damaged a pick up truck that was parked in the yard.
The fire service and police have both launched an investigation into the matter.
