Fire at Drag Mall destroys four booths

A fire in the wee hours of Sunday at the Drag Mall – also known as the People’s Mall – in downtown Port of Spain has left four vendors without a means to earn a living.

Among them is 31-year-old Carla Bernard who lost everything when her business, Carla’s Delights, was destroyed.

The fire was said to have started around 12 am and affected those booths closest to the Shoe Locker store on the corner of Henry and Queen Streets.

Speaking with Newsday while surveying the charred remains of the booths, Bernard said she arrived at 12.29 am after being told about the fire.

“I normally open until 11.30 pm on Fridays and Saturdays, selling food items, snacks, drinks, cigarettes, you name it. But I sold out early on Saturday so I closed up around 9.30 pm, only to hear the place on fire. Now everything gone. I don’t know what to do.”

Although she was still trying to comprehend what had happened, Bernard smiled as she spoke about the business she had built through years of hard work.

“I opened Carla’s Delights over ten years ago. I had a mini mart, a food court and sold some wholesale items. I lost nine fridges, two deep fryers, two warmers and all of my stock.”

Bernard wants to start over, ideally in the same location but wasn’t sure how long it would take to do so.

Fellow Drag Mall vendor Shawn Joseph expressed similar sentiments while speaking with Newsday.

“I sold men’s apparel, slippers, shows, school bags at my business, Prosperity Brothers. Nothing was left but I’m starting at a higher zero when I do re-open. Having gone through a fire here before, I know what it takes to start over. I’m not sure how long it will take to rebuild but I intend to return.”

There have been two previous fires at the Drag Mall, in 2005 and 2007. In the first incident, a car battery exploded at the mall, sparking a multi-million dollar fire which destroyed scores of vendors’ booths and several nearby businesses and a Ministry of Health office.

Two years later, a smaller fire led to the destruction of six booths and losses estimated at $300,000. An alarm was sounded after smoke was seen coming from the Frederick Street side of the mall around 2.30 am one morning in July 2007.

Investigators at the time said the fire might have been started by a rechargeable light left plugged in at one of the stalls.

The cause of Sunday’s fire is still being investigated by the Fire Service.