a mystery fire broke out there

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– family claims arson, received several threats from businessmanBy Latoya GilesA Duncan Street family believes that arsonists who have been targeting them struck for a third time at around 07:30 hrs yesterday, razing their two-storey bond and leaving then with millions in losses.The bond, located at Lot 34 Duncan Street, was stocked with groceries and flammable materials and the blaze spread too quickly for the owners to save anything. Firefighters who arrived at the scene shortly after were hampered by a lack of water.The building is owned by Mr. Gool Mohamed Bacchus, owner of the MFK store in Hadfield Street. Family members are claiming that there is a connection with this recent fire and threats that they have been receiving from a city businessman.Mohamed Rahaman is the son of the property owner and lives with his spouse, children and other relatives next to the bond. He was one of the first people on the scene. He told Kaieteur News that a relative came to him at around 07:30 hrs and said that there was a fire next door.Rahaman said he then saw that the bond was engulfed by thick black smoke and he rushed to the scene with a water hose in a futile attempt to extinguish the fire. However his wife Indira, who was in the building next to the bond, shouted that he should exit the building since the fire had consumed an upper flat too.Mr. Rahaman said he retreated from the flames and a fire tender came about 20 minutes later. Chief Fire Officer Marlon Gentle said that the fire service received a call at around 7:35hrs. He said that firefighters from Campbellville and Central Fire Stations responded. According to Gentle, by then, the building was already engulfed in flames. After seeing what they were faced with, the ranks sent out calls to other fire stations.But he said that they soon exhausted their water supplies, which they had used on other buildings in the vicinity. They attempted to use water from nearby canals but aborted this attempt because of the silt. Kaieteur News was told that while there were hydrants nearby, it took an hour before the water pressure became adequate for fire-fighting purposes.Fire Fighters in actionGentle said that his staff “pulled out all of the stops,” and commended them for their efforts.Gentle said that because of the nature of the fire, some of his ranks who were off duty had to be called in. He further noted that the building was laden with flammable items, which also made fire fighting difficult.But he declined to speculate about how the blaze started until a thorough investigation is done.A relative of the family said that this is the third major fire at one of their properties in recent months.Relatives are of the strong belief that arson was the cause of yesterday’s fire, since they had been receiving threats from another city businessman.Mr. Rahaman told Kaieteur News that his family started receiving threats soon after they purchased the MFK building on Hadfield Street (now G. Bacchus Enterprise) on Hadfield Street. Soon after payments were complete for the property, a mystery fire broke out there, he claimed.That blaze destroyed millions of dollars in stocks which were contained in the ground floor, which housed a supermarket and the first floor that stored household appliances.According to him, only the building was insured. The third fire happened at the family’s stall in the Bourda Market. In that fire too, Rahaman said that they suffered millions in losses.He alleged that after his family started to rebuild, the threats continued, with the individual allegedly threatening to kidnap his children and wife.“He called us saying that he would kidnap the children because he knows what school they go to… and he knows my wife’s whereabouts” Rahaman told this newspaper.According to him the family has about 20 reports at the Kitty and Brickdam police stations. The man went on to say that he has even provided the police with several telephone numbers and different information about the individual who had made the threats.“Every time we report it they just take the report and never one day took him for questioning or anything…they just sit and wait until something major happened”, Rahaman stated.He said as recently as last Friday night, someone had walked up to his security guard and tried to question him. However he said that the guard did not entertain the person and they left.Rahaman said that this recent fire will cause people to point fingers at his family, since “the first thing people say is that you’re burning the buildings to get the insurance”.The man maintained that his family is one that was hard working and committed.  But after yesterday’s misfortune, Rahaman said that the family is seriously considering migrating to the US, where they have citizenship.“I just feel like packing up and go” a frustrated Rahaman told Kaieteur News.He further noted that he was not sure whether the insurance would cover for anything. Investigations are continuing.(Additional reporting by Zena Henry)