Mayor Martinez on drag mall: City must take note

Port of Spain Mayor Joel Martinez said the city must take note of the frequency of fires at the Henry Street drag mall and said he is aware of the safety concerns from surrounding businesses.

Speaking with Newsday this afternoon, Martinez said while he was not in a position to disclose much information as he was not aware of the full extent of the damages, he confirmed that he intends to hold discussions with the Downtown Owners and Merchants Association (DOMA) and other stakeholders to address some of these concerns.

"It almost feels as if the fires are becoming prevalent in that area and we may need to look into why this is happening again and we will have to send in our people to find out what is the issue and how we can deal with it.

"No fire is good for anywhere. Once there is a fire, there is a risk that can be escalated. We know what the risk factor can be, it could have been a lot worse, so we will look into all those matters. The city has to take note of it and we will look into it as well as other areas of concern with town and country planning."

The fire which took place shortly before 6 am this morning destroyed four businesses.