Plumes of thick, black smoke covered La Romaine, San Fernando, yesterday evening as fire officers battled a multi-million dollar blaze that gutted a business complex. The buildings, located at Allahar Street, housed Diamond Systems Ltd, a computer company; Progmastics, an IT company; Sports Outlet, a clothing company and Trinidad Gaskets, a manufacturing company. The entire compound was owned by Southern Industrial.
The fire reportedly began around 4 pm and members of staff were evacuated before the Fire Services arrived. When the T&T Guardian visited the scene around 5 pm, thick smoke could be seen billowing from the ruins as firefighters of the Mon Repos Fire Station attempted to extinguish the blaze. Assistant Divisional Fire Officer Ansar Ali told the media the officers were able to contain the blaze to the building in the middle which housed Sports Outlet and prevented it from destroying the main administration building and the warehouse at the back, which stored chemicals of an unknown nature.
Ali said five units, 30 officers and five water tankers responded. One woman, who said she was part owner of Diamond Systems, said none of her employees were hurt. She could not give an estimate for the damages as there were other companies who also lost their stock. Councillor for the area, Roland Hall, visited the scene and praised the Fire Services for their speedy response.