Millions of dollars gone up in smoke

Firefighters worked into the wee hours of Sunday morning trying to extinguish and contain the spread of a massive fire that had completely gutted one of the buildings on the compound of J. Astaphans& Co. 1970 Ltd at the Canefield Industrial Estate last night.

However the fire officers were back on the site by about 8:30 am as they, along with a few Platinum Security Officers sought to douse the last remaining blazes that had flared up during the early morning hours.

But as the first light of day broke and the smoke cleared, the full extent of the damage wreaked by the raging inferno became apparent. One man described the scene as “a bombed out village.” Twisted and mangled steel beams and frames, shattered glass, blown out concrete walls, blackened and burnt out equipment, material and other bits and pieces, still smoldering from the night’s blaze, lay strewn under the open sky.

The fire service or police has not yet estimated the extent of damage but it is clear that the total loss would run into millions of dollars.

The Astaphans compound at Canefield houses five major buildings in addition to other structures sprawled throughout the courtyard. The furniture factory and Mitsubishi Motors dealership with its showroom and sales department were completely destroyed. Luckily, all of the vehicles in the showroom were moved out of the burning building by some canefield residents and bystanders. The bonded warehouse, general supplies store/showroom and garage were spared any damage.

None of the surrounding buildings or premises was damaged. The fire service and police are continuing their investigations with a view to determining the exact cause of the fire and extent of loss.