Following the completion of investigations into the fire that ravaged the Sharon’s Mall, tenants who suffered millions of dollars in losses are now seeking compensation.
Attorney-at-law, Dexter Todd, whose office was also completely destroyed on the third floor, told the News Room on Friday that the tenants are expected to commence discussions with the proprietor shortly.
“I do not want to rule out at this point in time, a very fruitful negotiations with the parties involved.
“Immediately after the fire, the management of Sharon’s Mall reached out to me and that, I believe, was an open door for us to have a conversation in this regard,” Todd told the News Room during an interview.
Todd said the tenants were waiting on the release of the report into the fire. The investigations were completed last week and the report of the Guyana Fire Service confirmed that the fire was indeed electrical in nature.
The Fire Chief, Kalamadeen Edoo, had told the News Room that the fire was caused by a slack electrical slot inside the building that sparked and ignited materials on the first floor.
The fire then spread to the upper levels until it completely destroyed the building. The Fire Chief had disclosed too that the building was not equipped with the requisite fire safety equipment, however, the owner had refuted this claim in some sections of the media.
Asked to confirm whether the building was outfitted with the fire safety materials, Todd stated, “Most of the tenants, I don’t believe, would have asked to see a proper building plan to make sure all the codes are [intact]…tenants commonly don’t really look at these things, so I have no reason to doubt the reports of the findings.”
The Sharon’s Mall, located at the corner of King and Charlotte Streets, Georgetown, was completed gutted at around 19:30hrs on April 28; the fire reportedly started at around 16:00hrs. Four firefighters were injured attempting to quell the blaze.
The fire was merely thick black smoke emanating from the building but later on, a loud explosion was heard and a huge fire engulfed the top flat of the building and travelled down, sending shards of hot glass flying into the streets.
The Sharon’s Mall housed law offices, clothing stores, electronic stores, salons and cafes; all of which were completely destroyed resulting in millions in losses.
Tenants had relayed to the News Room that the building could have been saved if the Fire Service had managed to properly control the fire.
The Fire Chief, however, had noted that his team had difficulty entering the building since many of the establishments were heavily grilled.
