Firemen praised after prompt response to Mucurapo fire

Fire and police officers received high praise from neighbouring business owners after they promptly extinguished a fire at Fei Wong Chinese Restaurant, 21A Mucurapo Road, St James. Officers were called at 6.45 am and around 11.45 am, respectively, to contain a fire at the Mucurapo building.

Damage was only done to the back of the building. No neighbouring buildings were damaged.

Dave Singh, father of the owner of The Strive Group restaurant located next to Fei Wong, told Newsday, “It was excellent service for the fire department. Both buildings on either side did not get any kind of damage.”

The fire officers and police responded to calls made by the business owners of smoke at the building at around 6.45 am. Workers at the next door security services company, who wished not to be named, said they first called the fire services at around 6.45 am when they saw smoke coming from the two-level building. They were ‘shocked’, they said, to see approximately six fire trucks arrive with police to extinguish the fire.

Singh said: “First was smoke. Thick smoke and we radioed for the fire department.

All of a sudden we saw they were here. They just showed up with four trucks. And then we thought it was only here, but they had trucks on the Foreshore also.”

He added while the officers were tackling the fire from that angle they were also tackling it from the Foreshore (which is at the back of the building).

He added there was no water damage and no damage at all to either buildings on both sides. “This is excellent service,” Singh said.

At around 11.45 am debris from the early fire began to smoke again to which Wrightson Road Fire Station again responded, this time sending two trucks.

“We saw smoke again and we called them and within three or four minutes they came with two trucks,” Singh said.

“Now they have done a lot of things sometimes we disapprove of and we talk about it but sometimes when they deserve compliment give it to them,” he said with a bright smile on his face.

Officer Seale and five firefighters responded to the second call.

Singh said they were told when the firefighters responded the first time to evacuate of the building they stayed outside for two hours and were then told they could re-enter the building.

“Business as you could see is now up and running thanks to the fire services,” Singh said.