General store, other businesses destroyed by fire in Georgetown

By Leroy Smith

[www.inewsguyana.com] – An early morning fire at Camp and Robb Streets, Georgetown spread to other nearby buildings causing complete destruction on Sunday, July 12.

The fire left millions in damage to the Chinese General Store, which was housed in the AH&L Kissoon’s Building. Fire Chief, Marlon Gentle told members of the media that the Fire Service received the call just after 03:00 hrs by a male who said that he heard an explosion and then saw a ball of fire inside the building.

The former Kissoon’s Furniture Building was bought by a businessman who operates a general store, selling various items and also had a storage bond in another property to the back of that building, which was also completely destroyed.

The media was told that the Guyana Fire Service responded with 11 tankers, which was used from fire stations within Georgetown.

There was however the challenge of containing the fire to one building since the structures are very close to each other and after exhausting the water in the tankers, the firefighters had to resort to taking water from the North Road canal.

The nearby Republic Bank also will now have to count its damage as the heat from the burning buildings caused the glass on the front of the building to shatter.

The fire, according to Gentle, was fueled by the wind and other items which were in the buildings, including gas bottles. It should be noted that this is not the first time that a fire has completely destroyed the Kissoon’s building.