An extractor fan in the kitchen caused the Fogarty building to fire – Preliminary investigation finds

Preliminary investigations, into a fire Friday morning at the Fogarty Building in Georgetown, found that it was caused by a faulty extraction fan in the kitchen of Rose Bud Café on the ground floor.

This is according to Fire Chief Marlon Gentle.

“Something went wrong in the kitchen but I don’t think it’s a cooking machine. We think he’s an electrical fan – one of these extraction fans, ”he told reporters at the scene this morning.

Chief Fire Officer, Marlon Gentle

Gentle also noted that the Fire Service had received several calls around 09:30h regarding smoke emanating from the building, which houses a number of small businesses on the ground floor.

Fire tenders were sent from Central Fire Station at Stabroek, Alberttown and West Ruimveldt Fire Stations along with the newly acquired Fire Boats.

“When they got here, they encountered heavy smoke conditions on the ground floor with smoke creeping into the upper floors. We were able to go into rapid attack mode and find the fire somewhere in the kitchen. The fire was already spreading through the ceiling and entering the business area of ​​the store. Crews were able to isolate, attack and prevent the fire, ”said the Fire Chief.

After the fire was extinguished, fire service investigators searched the kitchen area where it started.

Firefighters had to ventilate the building to make sure there were no other pockets of fire and clear the heavy pockets of smoke.

INews understands that shop owners, who operate on the ground floor, have been given permission to re-appear the building.

Although the extent of the compensation from inside the building is unknown, at least one clothing store at the rear of the building – Noor Islamic Wear – was damaged.

Meanwhile, one business woman, Sandra Narine, who currently rents part of the back of the Fogarty building as a storage bond, reported that stocks in her bond had been spared by fire this morning.

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