Quick response by fire service stops million-dollar Point Lisas blaze

Fire officers acted quickly on Monday night to extinguish a blaze at the Point Lisas Industrial Estate, Couva.

Shortly after 6pm, the fire started in the estate at the warehouse of Gemini Inks Caribbean Ltd. Within minutes the warehouse –which stores printing inks, printing solvents, sanitisers and industrial detergents – was engulfed in flames.

A few minutes later, fire officers began battling the blaze, which they eventually brought under control.

When Newsday visited on Tuesday morning, there was still smoke coming from the gutted warehouse, and burnt industrial steel drums littered the roadway in front. Fire officials were cordoning off the area to begin their investigations into the cause.

One official told Newsday that if fire officers hadn’t controlled the blaze as quickly as they did, it might have been worse, given the drums contained highly flammable chemicals and the fire could have spread to nearby buildings.

During Newsday’s visit, representatives from the company arrived to assist in the investigation.

The company’s technical director Ed Jacob told Newsday there was little he could say about the blaze, except to summarise it as a ‘tragedy and nightmare.’

He said most of the company’s inventory in the warehouse was destroyed except a few barrels of products that were stored at the front. Though unable to give the exact cost of the damage, Jacob said it was most likely in the millions.

Another representative explained the severity of the fire to Newsday and said the company supplies products to a number of companies, including printing ink to a local newspaper.