Vendors cry for help as arcade fire obliterates 95 stalls

Emergency responders and teary-eyed vendors worked tirelessly on Monday to salvage goods as a raging fire destroyed 95 shops at the Pearnel Charles Arcade on Church Street in downtown Kingston.

Janet ‘Netty’ Mitchell, a vendor at the arcade for more than 30 years who owns several shops there, was shaken but grateful to have saved some of her stock. She said that although the full extent of her loss was still unclear, she could tell the financial blow would be significant.

“Mi save some of my goods dem, but the three storerooms up there so, dem deh gone. ... Mi come come paint yesterday and pack dem and say [they will make] money fi Christmas and see it deh. Man a plan and God a wipe,” she said.

Mitchell said this was her third time experiencing losses from a fire at the arcade.

Sweating profusely as she moved back and forth, trying to safeguard the goods she managed to salvage, Mitchell expressed gratitude to men from the nearby Tel-Aviv, who rendered assistance.

“We affi ensure say she alright at all times. A our general dat. ... A Netty, and from she call, we affi alert,” one of her helpers told The Gleaner.

“That’s why mi a tell the higgler dem say it pay to live good; it pays to be kind. Suppose mi did mean to dem, dem wouldn’t help me,” Mitchell added.

She said her goods were not insured, and although she pays her market fees, she is not entitled to reimbursement.

“One time mi pack seven barrels of Clarks and bun out already dung deh so, and not even a dollar mi nuh get. You nah get nothing,” she said.

Though low in spirits, she was ready to restock with the goods she saved and continue her trade after clearance by the fire officials.

“A 16 grandchildren mi have ... . Bills affi pay; we affi go back in,” she said, cracking a smile for the first time in two hours.

She urged Kingston Mayor Andrew Swaby and city officials at the Kingston and St Andrew Municipal Corporation to assist them to get back on their feet.

“Come in come give we a likkle dollar so we can run go back and buy likkle goods. Unuh nuh tek too long,” she said.

Swaby told The Gleaner that a meeting will be called today with the 54 affected vendors.

“We will be looking at alternative locations we can find for them. I think that will help to lift them back up. ... During [the] Christmas holiday is when they make most of their money. I have seen despair on their faces and no doubt it really hit home,” he said.

Senior Superintendent Patrick Gooden, the Jamaica Fire Brigade’s (JFB) divisional head for Kingston and St Andrew, told The Gleaner that they responded to a fire call at 7:08 a.m. Forty-six firefighters from four stations battled the fire, bringing it under control in two hours.

Gooden said the JFB will be investigating the cause of the fire.

“I know that this is especially difficult, as we are less than six weeks away from Christmas,” Local Government Minister Desmond McKenzie said in a statement. “I have already spoken with the mayor of Kingston and St Andrew, and once the investigation is completed, the vendors will be consulted about the way forward as they seek to recover from this stressful incident,” McKenzie said.